Mrs. Doreen Coolen of Simms Settlement in Hubbards, Nova Scotia, was the 2002 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2002, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 17, 2002, her only child, Private Richard Anthony Green, died as a result of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan while on duty with the 3^rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Mrs. Coolen, née Young, is a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of Elva and Cecil Young.

In 2002, Mrs. Coolen was accompanied to the national Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa by Michael McDonald, whom she considers to be Private Green’s foster father. She enjoys reading, gardening, camping, cooking and hunting in her spare time.

Mrs. Charlotte Lynn Smith of Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, was the 2003 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2003, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 17, 2002, her son, Private Nathan Lloyd Smith, was killed, as a result of friendly fire, while serving with the 3^rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan.

Mrs. Smith, a native of Ostrea Lake, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, is the daughter of the late Raymond and Rose Williams. She attended Ostrea Lake Elementary School, Robert Jamieson High School and Saint Peter’s School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where Mrs. Smith enrolled in commercial business courses.

She married Lloyd David Smith of Tatamagouche and together they had two children, Nathan and Karen.

Mrs. Smith has been active in the Ostrea Lake Anglican Church and has served as a warden and treasurer.

Mrs. Agatha Dyer, of Montréal, Quebec, was appointed 2004 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2004, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 17, 2002, her son, Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, died as a result of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, where he was serving with the 3^rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Mrs. Dyer, née Dawkins, was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. In 1972, she immigrated to Canada. She married the late Paul Dyer of Toronto and together they had four children.

Mrs. Dyer is retired and lives in Ville Saint-Laurent, the largest of Montreal’s boroughs.

Mrs. Claire Léger of Stittsville, Ontario, was the 2005 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2005, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 17, 2002, her eldest child, Sergeant Marc Daniel Léger, serving with the 3^rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan, died as a result of a friendly fire incident.

Mrs. Léger, née Levac, was born in Alexandria, Ontario. She married Richard Léger and together they had three children Marc Daniel, Sofie Alice and Albert Michel. One-time residents of Saint-Raphaël, Lancaster, Orleans and Peterborough, Mr. and Mrs. Léger reside in Stittsville.

Mrs. Alice Murphy of Conception Bay, Newfoundland, was the 2006 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2006, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On January 27, 2004, her youngest child, Corporal Jamie Brendan Murphy, was killed by an explosion, believed to have been carried out by a suicide bomber, in the western district of Kabul, Afghanistan. He was on duty with the 3^rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment Battalion Group.

Mrs. Murphy, née Skeffington, was born in Amherst Cove and was a teacher in Newfoundland. Upon her marriage to Norman Murphy, she moved to Conception Harbour and became a stay-at-home mother to their four children–John, Rosemary, Norma and Jamie.

Mrs.Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler of Embrun, Ontario, was the 2007 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2007, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On October 2, 2003, her son, Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, was killed while on patrol when his jeep ran over an explosive device, near Kabul, Afghanistan. He was serving with the 3^rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment Battalion Group.

Mrs. Beerenfenger-Koehler was born in Leiden, Holland, and immigrated to Canada as a child with her parents and three brothers. She attended Champlain High School in Ottawa (West). In 2000, she was widowed when her husband, Andreas Koehler, passed away.

Mrs. Beerenfenger-Koehler is employed with Evripos which provides contractual services to the Department of National Defence at the former CFB Ottawa (Uplands).

Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik of Waskateneau, Alberta, was named the 2008 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2008, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On September 3, 2006, her son, Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik, a combat military engineer, was killed in an ambush while leading his section during Operation Medusa; a ground offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

Mrs. Stachnik was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and attended Jasper Place Composite High School. In 1971 she married Hank Stachnik. Together, they raised two children, Shane and Deanna.

In an interview, she relayed what an honour it was to be chosen to represent the mothers and families of fallen solider and commented on her son. "Shane was just a regular guy. He didn’t put on any false airs, but he was a good leader and a good role model; very kind and personable."

The passage of time is helping to ease the burden of their son’s death but Mrs. Stachnik says, “You never forget. You’re always thinking about him.”

Mrs. Della Marie Morley of East Saint Paul, Manitoba, was the 2009 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2009, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On September 18, 2006, her son, Corporal Keith Ian Morley, was killed by a suicide bicycle bomber while on foot patrol in Afghanistan. He was serving with A Company, 2^nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from Shilo, Manitoba.

Originally from Elkhorn, Mrs. Morley attended school there and in Virden before going to study at Western Christian College in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She married Russel Morley and they raised two children, Keith and Shannon Jaye. Widowed in 2003, she later remarried Fred Duna.

Mrs. Mabel Girouard, from Bathurst, New Brunswick, was the 2010 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2010, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On November 27, 2006, her son, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Michel Girouard, serving as the regimental sergeant major for the 1^st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group, was killed by a suicide car bomber while on duty near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Mrs. Girouard was born in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, and attended Bouctouche High School. In August 1959, she married Vincent Girouard and they had three children, Pierre Joseph, Charles Vincent and Robert Michel.

Mrs. Girouard is retired from New Brunswick Telephone where she was employed as a telephone operator and office worker.

Mrs. Patricia Braun of Raymore, Saskatchewan was the 2011 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2011, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On August 22, 2006, her son, Corporal David Braun, a member of the 2^nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry based out of Shilo, Manitoba, was killed by a suicide bomber while on patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Mrs. Braun, originally of Semans, is a graduate of Margaret McClumb School and the University of Saskatchewan. She and her husband, Blaine, raised four children—David, Diana, Christopher and Michael. In 1994, she was widowed.

Mrs. Braun is employed by the Horizon School Division.