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The provincial government is calling on Ottawa to consider awarding the Victoria Cross to worthy veterans.
The decoration, Canada’s highest honour for heroism in combat, hasn’t been handed out since the end of the Second World War despite the fact there have been “many worth potential recipients,” according to the provincial government.
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A motion was introduced in legislature on Wednesday calling on the federal government to establish an Independent Military Honours Review Board to review veterans’ cases where “evidence suggests Victoria Cross criteria were met.”
The Victoria Cross was created in 1856 by Queen Victoria to recognize the gallantry of soldiers during the Crimean War, and 99 Canadians have been awarded the medal since then.
“The establishment of an independent military honours review board would ensure that acts of extraordinary bravery are appropriately recognized,” Premier Scott Moe said in a statement.
“In light of broad public support for this initiative, I would like to signal the support of the Government of Saskatchewan in recognizing the many Canadians who sacrificed so much for our freedoms.”
Ed Stanowski, a retired lieutenant-colonel with the Canadian Forces, said on the Evan Bray Show that the last Canadian received the medal back in 1945.
Listen to the full interview here:
“There has not been a Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian since then,” he said.
“There have certainly been acts of valour that would warrant consideration of that, in my opinion and the opinion of many other people, including the people who were on the battlefield and saw the actions of people like Warrant Officer (Willy) MacDonald.”
Stanowski said there is currently an initiative called Valour in the Presence of the Enemy that aims to revive the Victoria Cross for Canadians.
“A group from across Canada suggests that it’s time to revisit the files of those who have stepped up and served Canada in fields of conflict overseas and shown great valour in the face of the enemy, in the presence of the enemy,” he said.
“That opportunity presented itself again, and yesterday I was never more proud of being (from) southern Saskatchewan than what I saw in the Saskatchewan legislature. Both parties united in their call for an independent review board… to look at at least 24 to 25 cases where valour has been on the battlefield from young men and young women.”
Regina-born Master Warrant Officer Willy MacDonald is one of the people the province has suggested is worthy of the Victoria Cross.
MacDonald shared his story on the Evan Bray Show, describing running across open terrain under intense enemy fire in Afghanistan to help his wounded comrades.
“Then they hit us with another rocket right after that. And then, you know, now I can hear the screaming, and ‘Hey, Willie, come help us. Come help us.’ I was about 30 feet away from the guys who were impacted by these rockets,” he said.
“I had to make a decision on whether or not I wanted to expose myself to enemy fire. The volume picked up significantly because we stopped shooting. They went ‘They’re not shooting, let’s finish them off,’ so they were now coming at us in waves.”
MacDonald said he decided to go and help his injured team members.
“I ran across the open terrain and got to my platoon commander and started to assess the damage, and as I was running across the first time, I saw Vaughn. He was sitting up against the wall, and I’ll spare you the gory details. He was still alive. Bryce was clearly deceased, and I didn’t see Kevin right off the bat, but he ended up having a pulse, but later he died of his injuries,” explained MacDonald.
“I had to go back out because I wanted to check on Vaughn and try to do first aid on him. I was contemplating how I was going to fix the things that were wrong with him, then his head fell to the side and he passed away.”
MacDonald said he feels humbled and honoured to even be considered for the Victoria Cross.
Meanwhile, Canada’s former top general, who led the military during the Afghanistan conflict, is also urging Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to revisit the files of soldiers who served there to see if any of their awards should be upgraded to the Victoria Cross.
Rick Hillier said that despite the failure of recent attempts to trigger such an independent review, he thinks the odds are better now that Ottawa is bent on revitalizing the Canadian Armed Forces.
In 1993, Canada created its own Victoria Cross medal, however it has never been awarded.
The statement from the premier’s office said “the formation of a military honours review board would be tasked with reviewing and determining if several past cases would meet the criteria for the Canadian Victoria Cross.”
Some potentially worthy recipients, the provincial government noted, include Jess Larochelle, who was gravely wounded during a Taliban attack in 2006 while deployed at an operating base in Kandahar.
“It has been a privilege to work with local members of our sacred military as well as the Valour in the Presence of the Enemy committee to bring forward this motion before the house,” Provincial Military Liaison Blaine McLeod said.
“It is my sincere hope that this motion, along with the many voices of support across our country, will be the catalyst for a new review board to honour our Veterans.”
The provincial government said Saskatchewan remains committed to honouring its military veterans, and said it will continue lobbying the federal governement “for the proper recognition of the brave men and women who deserve this prestigious award.”
–with files from The Canadian Press and 980 CJME’s Abby Zieverink
