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The first 46 Sacrifice Medals were presented to Canada Forces members on Nov. 9, 2009. The ceremony comes at a time when the world is reflecting upon two major events that have shaped the modern world: upcoming Remembrance Day and the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The medal, created to honour all those who died after Oct. 7, 2001 as a result of military service and those injured as a result of hostile action (and requiring medical attention), were presented by her Excellency the Right Honourable Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, Michaëlle Jean at Rideau Hall.
Twenty-one medals were given post-humously, including three medals to members of the Air Force. They are Master Corporal Darrell Priede, killed in a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan, Corporal Kirk Noel and Captain Juli-Ann Dawn Mackenzie, who died in helicopter crashes during separate search and rescue missions.
"You have made unimaginable sacrifices in the name of justice and freedom. Your families have done the same," said the Governor General. "We can never stress that enough."
Robert McMullen accepted the medal on behalf of his late wife, Captain Juli-Ann Mackenzie.
“She was a very elegant person and she would have received this award gracefully and I hope that I displayed a little bit of that grace on her behalf today.”
"It is a beautiful gesture to those who have given so much to Canada and I am deeply honoured to be the one to stand up on her behalf and receive it from the Governor General," he said. "To know that she lost her life doing something that she absolutely loved is very important to me."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanked all of the recipients for and for fighting for the same principles that brought the Wall down in 1989 and for "giving so much of yourselves."
The Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk was also present at the emotional ceremony and spoke to CTV’s Canada AM the day after the ceremony.
"It was a very emotional ceremony yesterday, as the Governor-General with the Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, presented 46 Sacrifice Medals to those wounded members of the Canadian Forces, but also to family members, where their loved ones have died in battle or died in the service of country," he said. "And so it was very emotional, not only from a sense of sorrow but [of] great pride."
Additional Sacrifice Medals will be given to Air Force members at a later date; eight to Air Force members and twenty posthumously.
To see the complete list of recipients, visit the Governor General’s website: www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13352
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