Trident Nov 14 2005 - Tridentnews.ca

14 R E M E M B R A N C E D A Y S P E C I A L
TRIDENT, NOVEMBER 14, 2005
footsteps of those veterans
who have served Canada
before us in the Army, Navy
and Air Force,” stated RAdm
McNeil. He gave a brief
overview of recent JTFA
events, including the deployment
of Navy ships and a
Coast Guard ship to provide
humanitarian aid to United
States along the Gulf of Mexico,
after Hurricane Katrina.
RAdm McNeil referred to
the deaths of Lt(N) Chris
Saunders during the CHI-
COUTIMI crisis in October
2004, the loss at sea of Leading
Seaman (LS) Robert Ivan
LeBlanc in March 2005, and
the death of the naval legend
RAdm Piers.
Referring to his conversation
that day with RAdm Piers’
widow Janet, RAdm McNeil
described her as saying ‘Debby
loved that concert. He
loved to sing.’ And she asked
me ‘Would you tell everybody
to sing for Debby And he will
hear you.’So we will do that.”
The evening concluded
with the audience singing
along on Roll Out the Barrel,
and Till We Meet Again, and
finished off in rousing style
with the Navy march Heart
of Oak.
Proceeds from the concert
go to the Queen Elizabeth II
Foundation and are intended
for the veterans at Camp Hill
Veterans Memorial Hospital.
CF nurses mark Veterans’ Week
by lunching with nursing veterans
By Virginia Beaton
Trident staff
In honour of Veterans Week, the
Halifax unit of the Nursing Sisters
Association of Nova Scotia invited a
group of nursing officers at Canadian
Forces (CF) Health Services Centre
Atlantic (CFHSC (A)) to attend their
annual Remembrance luncheon.
Held at Royal Artillery Park on
Monday, November 7, the luncheon
brought together several dozen retired
and serving CF nursing officers, and
two former military nurses who now
work at CFHSC(A) as civilian nurses.
Mrs. Margaret Guildford, president
of the association, stated that the
retired CF nursing officers, many of
whom served during the Second
World War and Korean War, have
recently begun to build connections
with the currently serving CF nurses.
The contact began in May 2005,
according to Mrs. Guildford. The
nurses at CFHSC(A) invited the nursing
sisters to Royal Artillery Park for
a luncheon, in celebration of the Year
of the Veteran as well as of National
Nursing Week.
During that luncheon, Mrs. Guildford
was invited to speak about her
Lt(N) Cathy Campbell, left, Giselle McGray, centre, and Pat Rutherford, right,
shared conversation during the luncheon.
time as a nursing sister with the Royal
Canadian Army Medical Corps
(RCAMC) during the Second World
War. “I went overseas in 1942 and I
came home in 1945 and I served in
England, Holland and Germany during
the war, so I told them about that.”
The friendship progressed, Mrs.
Guildford observed. She holds a picnic
each year at her house in Glen
Margaret, and the CF nurses were
invited to attend. “So, a large number
PTE JODIE CAVICCHI, FORMATION IMAGING SERVICES HALIFAX
of them came and they were all so
interested in talking to the older nurses,
and they expressed a wish to join
our group.”
That rapport has been beneficial to
the different generations of CF nursing
officers, Mrs. Guildford believes.
“We’re happy about it because it will
help us to carry on. It has revitalized
our group.”
Before the addition of these new
members, the Nursing Sisters Association
had seen its numbers decline
in recent years, according to Mrs.
Guildford. “We used to be national
and we had groups in every city
across Canada.” As members aged, it
became more difficult to have
national meetings but Mrs. Guildford
emphasized “We keep our own
units going.”
Lieutenant Lt(N) Nicolette Cornect,
stated that that of the nurses present
from CFHSC(A), “Many of us will be
joining the Nursing Sisters Association
of Nova Scotia, and will be paying
dues. That’s another way that
Canadian Forces Health Services
wants to maintain the link with our
nursing veterans. Not only in the Year
of the Veteran, 2005, but hopefully for
a very long time to come.”
The luncheon provided a chance
for the nurses to exchange stories,
stated Lt(N) Cornect. “We’re fascinated
to hear the stories that our nursing
colleagues have to tell about their
experience, many of them in wartime.
And others didn’t nurse during the
war, but they have some very interesting
comments to make about their
experience nursing in the CF. So we
like to hear this, and of course we
share ours as well.”