Pierre Cyr, reporter
Funded by the Local Journalism Initiative
As part of Veterans’ Week from November 5 to 11, École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge (ESSC) invited Bombardier L.W.B. Girard of the Second Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Canadian Armed Forces, to speak with students.
Girard himself is an ESSC alumnus and resident of Fort Coulonge. He joined the artillery seven years ago, is based at CFB Petawawa and will be deployed for a military exercise later this year.
During his visit, Girard met with secondary 3, 4 and 5 students, and also made a lunchtime presentation in the media library attended by another 20 students who showed a keen interest in understanding the work of the artillery.
In his discussion with students, Girard made the point that Remembrance Day is not just remembering those who died in war, but also those who survived, sometimes with physical or psychological after-effects.