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From today's Kingston Whig Standard
http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3138022
Planting a lasting legacy
By MICHAEL LEA, THE WHIG-STANDARD
Updated 3 hours ago
When her soldier husband died at the hand of a suicide bomber in Afghanistan five years ago, Jacqueline Girouard made two decisions.
She wanted to plant a tree in his memory and she wanted to enlist.
The second part she carried out almost immediately, joining the Canadian Forces at the age of 46.
The first happened Tuesday when she joined the parents of another soldier who died in Afghanistan to plant a tree in honour of all those who have died on the mission.
Placing her hand on a shovel along with Ron and Dianne Knight, whose daughter, Maj. Michelle Mendes, died in Afghanistan in 2009, Pte. Girouard helped Cataraqui Golf and Country Club launch a unique project called Trees for Troops.
More than 70 oak and maple saplings have already been planted around the course, said club president Ron Winkler, who conceived the idea to honour those who had died on the mission.
At the core of the project are several members of the club and the money has been raised through private donations, he explained. Most of the people involved are not military but just want to honour the troops.
"In Canada, I think no matter what the politicians say, our military and our hockey draws this country together more than anything else," Winkler said.
The club allotted land on the perimeter of its property to plant the trees.
As yet it is strictly a local effort although "I would love to see it go national," Winkler said.
He said the idea came from his childhood in small-town Saskatchewan, where he was in the army cadets and saw evergreens alongside a cemetery road that had been planted to honour soldiers killed in the Second World War.
"That's a wonderful thing and I have never had an opportunity to be able to do something similar," he said.
Each of the rapid growth trees, which were started as seedlings during the Afghanistan mission, represents "the life of someone who was willing to sacrifice themself on behalf of others."
"They are simply our way of saying thank you and well done."
Eventually, all the trees will be matched with a specific soldier, starting on the first hole with the first soldier to die.
It is planned to have all the trees GPS-enabled so anyone in Canada can use a special computer program to find where the specific tree is that is dedicated to their loved one. Photographs will be taken periodically of the trees so people can watch them grow online.
"That is a long-term goal," Winkler said, "but we need more funds (to do it)."
Girouard said she was humbled by the project and the effort to honour her husband, Master WO Bob Girouard, and the others who died in Afghanistan.
"It's nice to know that people still care and that's why I came today, because you want to show your appreciation."
Girouard said she always wanted to do something like this to remember her husband.
"When Bob first died, right away I wanted to plant trees for the guys they had already lost and some day, if I buy a property big enough, I probably will do that."
She said it is especially nice "when it is something that is going to be living."
Such commemorations "really (do) help the families heal."
Girouard has a daughter married to a member of the forces and two sons in the service. With a husband also in the forces, the military had become her life.
When her husband died, she looked to the military to get her through the ordeal.
"It was just a logical, healing spot for me to go. I just thought, 'I may as well join them.' "
Enlisting at 46 is hardly the normal age for a new recruit.
"It is a little unusual," she said, "but I guess none of us realized any of this was going to happen, so you do what you have to do to move forward and that's how I chose to move forward."
She had been going out with Bob Girouard since she was 15 and had been married to him since she was 18.
"I was my whole life. It was my way of life. It was everything," Jacqueline Girouard said. "When I lost him -- and I was having such a hard time dealing with that -- I chose that I didn't have to lose the military family on top of that. By joining I kept contact with what I've always known.
"It was very hard for me to let it all go at once."
Girouard said she'd thought about enlisting before her husband died and, after he was gone, decided she had "nothing to lose."
"I wanted to do my part, I guess. We were losing so many young boys and I thought if I can do a small part, I'll do a small part."
She chose supply technician as her trade and has been at CFB Kingston for three years but has now been posted to Petawawa.
She said joining the Forces "was the best thing I could have done."
"I understand a lot more now."
It is easier for her military sons to talk to her and accept her advice now she is more a part of the forces.
"Before, as just the mom, I wouldn't have known what to tell them and they didn't have their dad any more."
The remainder of the trees will be planted in the fall to make up the total number of Canadian troops who have died in Afghanistan.
"Let's hope that we won't need any more than are already there," Winkler said.
mlea@thewhig.com
Article ID# 3138022
http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3138022
Planting a lasting legacy
By MICHAEL LEA, THE WHIG-STANDARD
Updated 3 hours ago
When her soldier husband died at the hand of a suicide bomber in Afghanistan five years ago, Jacqueline Girouard made two decisions.
She wanted to plant a tree in his memory and she wanted to enlist.
The second part she carried out almost immediately, joining the Canadian Forces at the age of 46.
The first happened Tuesday when she joined the parents of another soldier who died in Afghanistan to plant a tree in honour of all those who have died on the mission.
Placing her hand on a shovel along with Ron and Dianne Knight, whose daughter, Maj. Michelle Mendes, died in Afghanistan in 2009, Pte. Girouard helped Cataraqui Golf and Country Club launch a unique project called Trees for Troops.
More than 70 oak and maple saplings have already been planted around the course, said club president Ron Winkler, who conceived the idea to honour those who had died on the mission.
At the core of the project are several members of the club and the money has been raised through private donations, he explained. Most of the people involved are not military but just want to honour the troops.
"In Canada, I think no matter what the politicians say, our military and our hockey draws this country together more than anything else," Winkler said.
The club allotted land on the perimeter of its property to plant the trees.
As yet it is strictly a local effort although "I would love to see it go national," Winkler said.
He said the idea came from his childhood in small-town Saskatchewan, where he was in the army cadets and saw evergreens alongside a cemetery road that had been planted to honour soldiers killed in the Second World War.
"That's a wonderful thing and I have never had an opportunity to be able to do something similar," he said.
Each of the rapid growth trees, which were started as seedlings during the Afghanistan mission, represents "the life of someone who was willing to sacrifice themself on behalf of others."
"They are simply our way of saying thank you and well done."
Eventually, all the trees will be matched with a specific soldier, starting on the first hole with the first soldier to die.
It is planned to have all the trees GPS-enabled so anyone in Canada can use a special computer program to find where the specific tree is that is dedicated to their loved one. Photographs will be taken periodically of the trees so people can watch them grow online.
"That is a long-term goal," Winkler said, "but we need more funds (to do it)."
Girouard said she was humbled by the project and the effort to honour her husband, Master WO Bob Girouard, and the others who died in Afghanistan.
"It's nice to know that people still care and that's why I came today, because you want to show your appreciation."
Girouard said she always wanted to do something like this to remember her husband.
"When Bob first died, right away I wanted to plant trees for the guys they had already lost and some day, if I buy a property big enough, I probably will do that."
She said it is especially nice "when it is something that is going to be living."
Such commemorations "really (do) help the families heal."
Girouard has a daughter married to a member of the forces and two sons in the service. With a husband also in the forces, the military had become her life.
When her husband died, she looked to the military to get her through the ordeal.
"It was just a logical, healing spot for me to go. I just thought, 'I may as well join them.' "
Enlisting at 46 is hardly the normal age for a new recruit.
"It is a little unusual," she said, "but I guess none of us realized any of this was going to happen, so you do what you have to do to move forward and that's how I chose to move forward."
She had been going out with Bob Girouard since she was 15 and had been married to him since she was 18.
"I was my whole life. It was my way of life. It was everything," Jacqueline Girouard said. "When I lost him -- and I was having such a hard time dealing with that -- I chose that I didn't have to lose the military family on top of that. By joining I kept contact with what I've always known.
"It was very hard for me to let it all go at once."
Girouard said she'd thought about enlisting before her husband died and, after he was gone, decided she had "nothing to lose."
"I wanted to do my part, I guess. We were losing so many young boys and I thought if I can do a small part, I'll do a small part."
She chose supply technician as her trade and has been at CFB Kingston for three years but has now been posted to Petawawa.
She said joining the Forces "was the best thing I could have done."
"I understand a lot more now."
It is easier for her military sons to talk to her and accept her advice now she is more a part of the forces.
"Before, as just the mom, I wouldn't have known what to tell them and they didn't have their dad any more."
The remainder of the trees will be planted in the fall to make up the total number of Canadian troops who have died in Afghanistan.
"Let's hope that we won't need any more than are already there," Winkler said.
mlea@thewhig.com
Article ID# 3138022
