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Letter of the Day in March 3rd Toronto Sun
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/letters/2010/03/02/13088481.html
You can consider this is my love letter to Canada.
The United States and Canada are inextricably linked — not only in the gold medal game in hockey, but on the battlefields of Afghanistan and on the training fields of both our countries. We are both great democracies that inspire people from around the world and we are both magnets for immigrants. And we are both willing to fight when fighting needs to be done.
I first visited Canada with my family in the late 1970s. We crossed into Canada from upstate New York, hit Montreal, then drove along the river and crossed back into New York.
I grew up, went to university and then into the Army.
After Desert Storm was fought while I was in Korea, I went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was tagged to host a group of Royal Canadian Air Cadets out of Mississauga. A great group of folks with whom I visited on and off over a couple of years in the early ’90s — including one night wandering around a snowy Canadian training area, wondering how embarrassing it would be for an American Army Officer to freeze to death in Canada while hanging out with a bunch of Canadian high school kids.
After marriage, my wife and I vacationed with our baby daughter and my parents in Nova Scotia, where we saw one of the great intersections of American and Canadian history. We visited a site where Canadians had repulsed American privateers and I saw tributes to Loyalist Colonists who left Massachusetts and settled in Nova Scotia.
That was interesting, though not interesting enough for my wife to forgive me for trapping her in a minivan with her in-laws. But it was not as inspiring as the people of Nova Scotia caring for the thousands of people stranded at the Halifax airport on Sept. 11, 2001.
After tours in Bosnia, Kuwait and in Iraq, I found myself at Fort Irwin, California, with a group of Canadian Army officers and non-commissioned officers who were helping us train American soldiers en route to Afghanistan — and renewing my admiration for our northern neighbour.
These were proud representatives of Canada’s bravest — men and women who had fought the hardest of fights in Afghanistan and who had spilled blood, their own and that of the enemy. They brought their lessons and they freely gave of their experiences which in turn broadened the training for these Americans who are engaged in the same cause.
I don’t speak for all Americans, but I’m sure I speak for most — we are humbled by the burden Canada has born in this war in Afghanistan, and we are honoured by her sacrifice. We serve shoulder to shoulder in this war against extremism. We honour the Canadians killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and the 140 Canadians who have given their lives in Afghanistan. We, as Americans, are lucky to have such a neighbour.
So, congratulations on your record-breaking gold medals in Vancouver — and even on the hockey gold. Well done.
Patrick Donahoe
Colonel
United States Army
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/letters/2010/03/02/13088481.html
You can consider this is my love letter to Canada.
The United States and Canada are inextricably linked — not only in the gold medal game in hockey, but on the battlefields of Afghanistan and on the training fields of both our countries. We are both great democracies that inspire people from around the world and we are both magnets for immigrants. And we are both willing to fight when fighting needs to be done.
I first visited Canada with my family in the late 1970s. We crossed into Canada from upstate New York, hit Montreal, then drove along the river and crossed back into New York.
I grew up, went to university and then into the Army.
After Desert Storm was fought while I was in Korea, I went to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was tagged to host a group of Royal Canadian Air Cadets out of Mississauga. A great group of folks with whom I visited on and off over a couple of years in the early ’90s — including one night wandering around a snowy Canadian training area, wondering how embarrassing it would be for an American Army Officer to freeze to death in Canada while hanging out with a bunch of Canadian high school kids.
After marriage, my wife and I vacationed with our baby daughter and my parents in Nova Scotia, where we saw one of the great intersections of American and Canadian history. We visited a site where Canadians had repulsed American privateers and I saw tributes to Loyalist Colonists who left Massachusetts and settled in Nova Scotia.
That was interesting, though not interesting enough for my wife to forgive me for trapping her in a minivan with her in-laws. But it was not as inspiring as the people of Nova Scotia caring for the thousands of people stranded at the Halifax airport on Sept. 11, 2001.
After tours in Bosnia, Kuwait and in Iraq, I found myself at Fort Irwin, California, with a group of Canadian Army officers and non-commissioned officers who were helping us train American soldiers en route to Afghanistan — and renewing my admiration for our northern neighbour.
These were proud representatives of Canada’s bravest — men and women who had fought the hardest of fights in Afghanistan and who had spilled blood, their own and that of the enemy. They brought their lessons and they freely gave of their experiences which in turn broadened the training for these Americans who are engaged in the same cause.
I don’t speak for all Americans, but I’m sure I speak for most — we are humbled by the burden Canada has born in this war in Afghanistan, and we are honoured by her sacrifice. We serve shoulder to shoulder in this war against extremism. We honour the Canadians killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and the 140 Canadians who have given their lives in Afghanistan. We, as Americans, are lucky to have such a neighbour.
So, congratulations on your record-breaking gold medals in Vancouver — and even on the hockey gold. Well done.
Patrick Donahoe
Colonel
United States Army
