Canadian Forces to pay special tribute to outgoing Governor General STEPHEN THORNE
Sat Sep 17, 3:32 PM ET
OTTAWA (CP) - A soldier whom Adrienne Clarkson diverted her plane to visit after he was wounded in a friendly fire attack in Afghanistan, and a mother whose son was killed in the 2002 incident, will pay tribute to the outgoing Governor General at a ceremony Tuesday on Parliament Hill.
Hundred of soldiers, rangers and cadets, along with politicians and senior officers, will gather at 10:30 a.m. to thank a commander-in-chief they say "went the extra mile" for her troops.
"It's a way for us to say farewell and thank the Governor General for all she's done for the Canadian Forces," says Lt.-Cmdr. Nathalie Garcia, an event organizer.
Clarkson spent a Christmas at sea with the navy in the Persian Gulf and twice she marked the New Year with soldiers in Afghanistan.
She spent untold hours with veterans and she visited uniformed Canadians in every part of the country.
"Certainly one of the most cherished duties that Her Excellency has undertaken in the last six years was in her role as commander-in-chief of the Canadian Forces," said her chief spokesman, Randy Mylyk.
"She has developed both very strong and effective bonds, not only with the senior members of the Canadian Forces, but also with the rank-file and individual privates in the field."
Mylyk said she also coveted the opportunity to promote the services and the contributions military personnel make to Canada on a daily basis.
Some Canadians called her elitist. They said she was more comfortable in Toronto's salon circles than in homeless shelters. Parliament trimmed her budget after the media took her to task over travel spending.
But in the Canadian Forces, Clarkson - who wrote most of her own speeches, including many moving and poignant tributes to Canada's veterans - is almost universally loved and admired.
"Clarkson has been terrific as commander-in-chief," said one senior Defence Department source on condition of anonymity. "This is a key part of Governor General Clarkson's term that people don't write very much about.
"She connected with the Armed Forces."
Sgt. Lorne Ford, who was badly wounded in the April 2002 attack near Kandahar that killed four of his comrades, will speak at the ceremony.
Clarkson was in Britain for events marking the Queen's Golden Jubilee when the Canadians were hit. She had her aircraft diverted to Germany to be there when the bodies of the dead arrived aboard a C-17, and to visit the wounded, including Ford.
"The impact of the deaths and severe wounding of our soldiers touches us all in a personal way," Clarkson said at the time.
One of those killed was Sgt. Marc Leger, whose mother Claire will also speak Tuesday.
Quietly, away from the media glare, Clarkson personally met Claire Leger and the other bereaved families after the friendly fire incident. She spent several hours with some of them.
But more than anything she said or did as Governor General, Claire Leger says, she admires Clarkson for rising to ceremonial head of state from her modest roots as a Hong Kong immigrant.
"It's more than just what she did with our son," Leger said. "She is a person that I adm - ired all along.
"I found her to be a very kind person, very down-to-earth."
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(CP) - Some of Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson's visits to Canadian troops since her investiture:
1999
-Canadian Forces Base Esquimault during first official visit to British Columbia.
-Canadian troops in Kosovo.
2000-2001
-CFB Valcartier in Quebec.
-Canadian troops in Bosnia.
-Departure of HMCS Preserver in Halifax.
2002
-Ramstein, Germany, to meet soldiers wounded in Afghanistan friendly fire incident and attend transfer of soldiers killed.
-Presented Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation to 1st Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, Battle Group, for reopening airport in besieged city of Sarajevo in 1992.
-Presented Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation to 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Battle Group for courageous and professional execution of duty during Medak Pocket Operation in former Yugoslavia in 1993.
-Christmas with sailors patrolling Persian Gulf as part of war on terror.
2003
-New Year's with Canadian troops in Kabul.
2004
-Memorial ceremony in Petawawa, Ont., for Cpl. Jamie Murphy, killed by suicide bomber in Kabul.
-New Year with Canadian troops in Kabul.
2005
-Canadian Forces Station Alert, on her last Arctic trip as Governor General.
-CFB Petawawa's 100th anniversary.
-Ottawa airport send-off for Canadian soldiers heading to Afghanistan.
-Presided over Maritime Pacific change-of-command ceremony in Esquimalt, B.C.
-CFB Edmonton as part of tour of Alberta and Saskatchewan marking provincial centennials.
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