Canadians remember and say thank you to those who served and sacrificed
OTTAWA — Canadians from coast to coast paused in remembrance and gratitude Friday for those who offered their lives in service of their country — but it was one young woman’s personal gesture that Darrel MacDonald will never forget.
In a wheelchair since a spinal-cord injury during a training accident in 1998 cut his military career short, MacDonald had travelled to Ottawa from Halifax this week for his first Remembrance Day in the capital.
He was fighting back tears at the memory of a fallen comrade, describing the importance of thanking a veteran in front the National War Memorial, when a young woman emerged from the crowd to do exactly that.
“Thank you,” she said, looking MacDonald in the eyes and shaking his hand. “God bless you.”