Susan Clairmont (from the
Hamilton Spectator in her brilliantly written coverage of Cpl. Nathan
Cirillo introduced her article...He Has Become Canada's Hero...with the
following paragraph.
In the stunning Christ's
Church Cathedral, the veteran with the cane and the chest full of medals
struggles into the church aisle as Cpl. Nathan Cirillo passes. He squeezes between two young pall-bearers ~
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders with tears in their eyes ~ to reach the
flag-draped coffin. The old soldier
steadies himself and gently places a poppy on the casket.
It is one of the
beautiful moments that unfolds amid the despair.
This is Nathan's
farewell.
Dignitaries slip in quietly
with little pomp and circumstance. Prime
Minister Stephen Harper walks the center aisle, holding his wife Laureen's
hand. There are heroes among us. The lawyer, the nurse, the corporal and the
passersby who ran toward the gunshots last Wednesday (October 22) in Ottawa and tried to save
Nathan. They are here in the church
today.
“You are loved,”
Barbara Winters, the lawyer told Nathan as he died.
“You're a good
man. You're a brave man.”
Stephen Harper's
Address at Corporal Nathan Cirillo's Funeral
on Tuesday,
October 28, 2014
We are gathered here today to
give thanks for the life of Corporal Nathan Cirillo, struck down last week in
the service of his country. His
country...our country...our Canada.
Ever desiring peace, Canada has
been built upon the noblest ideals, freedom, democracy, human rights and the
rule of law. And, for as long as these
ideals have been the foundation of our country,
it has been our men and women in uniform who have been in the end, their
ultimate guardians.
Sometimes, they have given their
lives in that service. And last
Wednesday, Corporal Nathan Cirillo became the latest to do so.
Corporal Cirillo was a member of
one of Canada's greatest regiments ~ the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of
Canada, Princess Louise's. In more than a century of service, with honours earned from Somme to Afghanistan,
this regiment's record of courage under fire is as distinctive as their kilts
and their Glengarries. To quote Captain
Sam Chapman, who served with the regiment during the Second World War, “It is a
history written in blood.”
Now, so very regrettably,
Corporal Cirillo has added another page to that great narrative of
'faithfulness unto death'.
In a bitter and heart-wrenching
irony, he did so as he guarded Canada's national place of solemn, sacred
remembrance. Canadians come together at
our National War Memorial, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beside it, to
honour those who have given their lives for their country.
As Canadians, we stand there
humbled... humbled and grateful. These monuments remind us that
freedom is never
free. It has been earned by the soldier
and then donated
to all of us.
Most of us can never truly
understand the significance of a soldier of the simple act of standing
reverently on guard at that place. But
those chosen for this sought-after assignment, this vigil at the National War
Memorial and over the Unknown Soldier's grave, they understand.
Corporal Cirillo, who felt the
calling of a soldier when he was just a 13-year-old cadet, he understood. He knew what he was protecting...and
what he was preserving. He died protecting...and preserving it.
And I am satisfied to note that,
only after a brief interruption, on Friday past, the honour guard at that
sacred place officially resumed its duties.
For Canadians, the memory of
Corporal Cirillo will now forever be linked to that place, just as the crowds
that gathered there to honour the
returning sentries, mirrored those along the “Highway of Heroes” later that
same day, to bear witness to Corporal Cirillo's final journey home.
He has now joined the ranks of so
many brave Canadians who have gone before him, having given all in the service
of their country.
Our hearts are
broken at his loss...
but our spirits
are grateful for his memory.
Corporal Cirillo knew what all
those men and women who died before him knew: The only values really worth
living for...are those worth dying for. So may God bless Corporal Cirillo. We
are better for his life...and are lessened by his loss.
And I know Canadians everywhere
join me in praying for Corporal Cirillo's family: his mother, Katherine, his father Victor, his
sisters Nicole and Natasha, their partners Richard and Jonathon, and his nephew
Cameron...as they shoulder this terrible burden of grief. May time ease the
searing pain of today. And may his son, young Marcus Daniel Cirillo, someday
find comfort in the fact that...
our entire country
looks up to his Dad,
with pride, with
gratitude, with deep abiding respect.
As Canadians, we will persevere,
taking strength from the legacy of service of Corporal Cirillo, and giving
thanks all the more for the courage and dedication of all men and women of the
Canadian Armed Forces. God bless them
all...and may God keep our land glorious and free!
Queen Elizabeth II, Monarch of Great
Britain and the British Commonwealth
sent these words of comfort:
Thanks and Prayers
to the family and friends
of Cpl. Nathan
Cirillo ~ a true Canadian Hero!
.
Merle
Baird-Kerr...written October 29, 2014
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