Canadian Armed Forces

Welcoming home Daddy

It was a grey day when Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Athabaskan sailed back into Halifax Harbour after months in the Arabian Gulf. The Atlantic air was heavy with mist. On the jetty, a young sailor’s family stood in the anxious crowd; a wife, parents, siblings and two small boys. One of them, barely old enough to understand what war was, clutched a handmade sign that read: “Welcome Home Daddy”.

Following in his father’s footsteps 

Born in Halifax in 1969, Gerald Doutre grew up in a military family in Lantz, Nova Scotia, moving between different communities throughout his childhood. His father served in the Navy, and several of his relatives had served in both the First and Second World Wars.   

In high school, Doutre worked part-time at the warrant officers’ and sergeants’ mess in Ottawa, where his father served as the committee president. Seeing the military lifestyle up close inspired him to follow in his father’s footsteps and enlist.   

Under the blazing Afghan sun, amid sandbags and shellfire, Corporal Matt Luloff found time to write songs.

“It was a great outlet, it helped me make sense of everything that was going on around me.”

As a member of the Task Force Kandahar battle group, Luloff did security, navigated fighting patrols on foot in the Panjwai-Zharey district and, at the end of the tour, transported troops along the world’s then most dangerous road —Highway 1 from Kandahar Airfield.

Northwest Rebellion

In 1885, women serve for the first time in Canadian military history as nurses in the field to provide care to the Canadian troops serving in Saskatchewan. A total of 12 nursing sisters are awarded the North West Canada Medal for their service.

When Maria Vidotto joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983, there was no grand strategy, family pressure or dramatic calling.

It was a Yellow Pages ad in a St. Catharines, Ontario, phone book that caught her eye.

“I was a good student,” she said matter-of-factly. “I had options.”

An aptitude for mechanics

Her initial plan was to become a military police officer, but she started realizing her aptitude was leaning toward the Royal Canadian Air Force, into a trade few civilians ever see up close: Air Weapons Systems Technician.

The Santa tracker

On 24 December 1955, US Air Force Colonel Shoup, Director of Operations at CONAD (Continental Air Defence Command), received a call in his office in Colorado Springs. This was no ordinary call. It was coming in on one of the top secret phone lines. Colonel Shoup answered the phone expecting it to be the Pentagon or a four-star general.

"Are you really Santa Claus?", a tiny voice asked.