Two-year-old steals the show during ceremony at Rideau Hall:
A two-year-old girl stole the show Friday at Rideau Hall, interrupting Gov. Gen Michaëlle Jean as she spoke to a room of military personnel on hand for a ceremony honouring the brave efforts of Canadian soldiers.
Dressed in a pretty lilac dress, Rose Dallas Arsenault walked up and down the aisle talking loudly to the dozens of soldiers who were seated awaiting the presentations of Military Valour Decorations and Meritorious Service Decorations.
In an unusual break in protocol, Jean stopped reading her prepared speech, stepped down from the podium, and approached the girl who was causing a stir in the stately ballroom of Rideau Hall.
“Who’s your daddy?” she asked the young girl, much to the delight of the family members of military soldiers and dignitaries, including Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk and U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson.
The Governor General turned around and returned to the podium to continue her speech, but not before Rose said in a loud voice, “Bye.”
Obviously delighted by the brief encounter, the Governor General commented that “she’s very much alive, she’s great.”
Rose is the daughter of Warrant Officer Russell Arsenault — based at Petawawa — who received a Meritorious Service Medal. He was one of 50 soldiers receiving medals in the afternoon ceremony.
“It’s very nice to get rewarded for actions you did and the way things unfolded,” Arsenault, 41, said in an interview after the ceremony.
He was in Afghanistan with the Battle Group from September 2008 to April 2009. As acting commander on several occasions, Arsenault led his platoon through a number of challenging assaults by the enemy and he was commended for his “sense of cohesion” within his platoon.
“I tried to be calm during that experience, but that comes with the training and the experience. There’s always a sense of danger when you’re out there, but you rely on your training and the people around you.”
Arsenault said he was very happy his wife, daughter, mother and mother-in-law were at the ceremony.
“I didn’t want my daughter to steal the show from the Governor General and the other people getting awards,” Arsenault said.
“The Governor General was happy for me. She just said to enjoy the medal and share it with my family.”
Master Cpl. Jeremy Pinchin of Pembroke received the Star of Military Valour for his heroic actions on Nov. 16, 2008.
Pinchin’s small sniper detachment was on an isolated rooftop in Zhari district, protecting the southern flank of a joint Canadian-Afghan patrol. The patrol was attacked by a group of insurgents and after a fellow soldier suffered a life-threatening wound, Pinchin gave him first-aid and protected him from the enemy, risking his own life.
Others who received the Medal of Military Valour were Cpl. Richard Anderson, Sgt. Russell Gregoire, Cpl. Mark McLaren (deceased, the medal was presented to his brother, Miles Gordon McLaren), Sgt. David Tedford and Master Cpl. Michael Trauner.
Tedford’s patrol was ambushed in Kandahar province on Oct. 8, 2008. He was providing cover for his troops when his vehicle’s main cannon jammed. As one of the gunners tried to fix the weapon, Tedford rose out of the turret to return fire with a machine-gun that was atop the vehicle. It was determined that his actions and determination to suppress the enemy through the firefight contributed to a successful withdrawal.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Soldiers+honoured+battlefield+bravery/3114908/story.html#ixzz0q85XlTTU
[Edit to correct spelling of "Soldiers" in title as it was driving me nuts.]
A two-year-old girl stole the show Friday at Rideau Hall, interrupting Gov. Gen Michaëlle Jean as she spoke to a room of military personnel on hand for a ceremony honouring the brave efforts of Canadian soldiers.
Dressed in a pretty lilac dress, Rose Dallas Arsenault walked up and down the aisle talking loudly to the dozens of soldiers who were seated awaiting the presentations of Military Valour Decorations and Meritorious Service Decorations.
In an unusual break in protocol, Jean stopped reading her prepared speech, stepped down from the podium, and approached the girl who was causing a stir in the stately ballroom of Rideau Hall.
“Who’s your daddy?” she asked the young girl, much to the delight of the family members of military soldiers and dignitaries, including Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk and U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson.
The Governor General turned around and returned to the podium to continue her speech, but not before Rose said in a loud voice, “Bye.”
Obviously delighted by the brief encounter, the Governor General commented that “she’s very much alive, she’s great.”
Rose is the daughter of Warrant Officer Russell Arsenault — based at Petawawa — who received a Meritorious Service Medal. He was one of 50 soldiers receiving medals in the afternoon ceremony.
“It’s very nice to get rewarded for actions you did and the way things unfolded,” Arsenault, 41, said in an interview after the ceremony.
He was in Afghanistan with the Battle Group from September 2008 to April 2009. As acting commander on several occasions, Arsenault led his platoon through a number of challenging assaults by the enemy and he was commended for his “sense of cohesion” within his platoon.
“I tried to be calm during that experience, but that comes with the training and the experience. There’s always a sense of danger when you’re out there, but you rely on your training and the people around you.”
Arsenault said he was very happy his wife, daughter, mother and mother-in-law were at the ceremony.
“I didn’t want my daughter to steal the show from the Governor General and the other people getting awards,” Arsenault said.
“The Governor General was happy for me. She just said to enjoy the medal and share it with my family.”
Master Cpl. Jeremy Pinchin of Pembroke received the Star of Military Valour for his heroic actions on Nov. 16, 2008.
Pinchin’s small sniper detachment was on an isolated rooftop in Zhari district, protecting the southern flank of a joint Canadian-Afghan patrol. The patrol was attacked by a group of insurgents and after a fellow soldier suffered a life-threatening wound, Pinchin gave him first-aid and protected him from the enemy, risking his own life.
Others who received the Medal of Military Valour were Cpl. Richard Anderson, Sgt. Russell Gregoire, Cpl. Mark McLaren (deceased, the medal was presented to his brother, Miles Gordon McLaren), Sgt. David Tedford and Master Cpl. Michael Trauner.
Tedford’s patrol was ambushed in Kandahar province on Oct. 8, 2008. He was providing cover for his troops when his vehicle’s main cannon jammed. As one of the gunners tried to fix the weapon, Tedford rose out of the turret to return fire with a machine-gun that was atop the vehicle. It was determined that his actions and determination to suppress the enemy through the firefight contributed to a successful withdrawal.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Soldiers+honoured+battlefield+bravery/3114908/story.html#ixzz0q85XlTTU
[Edit to correct spelling of "Soldiers" in title as it was driving me nuts.]