The only thing more impressive than their competence was their courage.
This is an incident I described in my second book, where a medic ran forward under fire to reach a wounded soldier, got there and realized the solider had lost his helmet, and immediately removed his own to protect the casualty's head. That kind of courage came at a price. We lost eight combat medics in Afghanistan, and we were a small group to start with. Compared to the size of our group, we had the highest casualties of any of the elements in the battle group.
This individual and the one just before him were medics who served at my FOBs and on my tours. They were more than just my colleagues and comrades-in-arms; they were my friends. Two more of these individuals were from my hometown of Sudbury, in northern Ontario, including this young man, who was the last medic to die. He was the son of a very good friend of mine. I was having dinner with the father when the son was killed.
So when you tell the story of the Canadian Forces Health Services in Afghanistan, you tell them that the medics got to their patients or they died trying. For that, we will remember them. I hope Canada does as well.
Thank you.
[Applause]