Last week, Canada was brought together in a shared grief over the attacks and subsequent deaths of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo.
In an outpouring of support, many Cochranites brought flowers and paid their respects at the cenotaph located next to the Cochrane Legion.
Beside the stone memorial and the dozens of brightly coloured bouquets, Steve Merritt stood vigil for four days.
“What an experience that was, the pure outpouring of emotion. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my whole life and I’m 53 years old,” said Merritt, a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
He explained that it was important, because it was a sign of solidarity. He said that even when the uniform comes off, members of the military still show a large amount of respect for the men and women who are serving and those who pay the ultimate price and sacrifice their lives.
“We military are trained that wounded and fallen soldiers are never left on the battlefield,” said Merritt.
Merritt was born in Regina and grew up in Montreal. He eventually joined the military in October of 1984 and served as an airframe technician, where he took care of the entire airframe in military aircrafts including hydraulic systems, landing gear, wheels and windows. He said his first posting was at the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton and eventually he moved on to the CFB in Cold Lake (commonly referred to as 4 Wing) until 1998 when he retired.
While in Edmonton, his period of service included Operation Desert Storm where he said he didn’t go overseas, but was part of the ground crew that offered support from Canada.
Merritt said he was inspired to join the military for a number of reasons, one of which being a long line of his family members who were involved – his grandfather, father and brother among them.
He spoke very fondly of his brother, who was a cook in the military and had since passed.
“He had a glorious career and he cooked for the likes of Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, Prince Charles and Princess Diana when they came to visit Canada, and the list goes on and on,” he said.
He said he found out that his brother was finally listed on the row of crosses in Calgary and he planned to go lay a poppy on his brother’s cross with his nephew, something he described as an honour.
Among the other factors that led Merritt to join the military were the FLQ Crisis, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and Sir Winston Churchill – whom he said he admired for his absolute unconditional resolve.
Remembrance Day to Merritt has become especially important for the younger generation.
“Especially for the children, we must teach them that we can never forget the sacrifices these people made for the freedoms and rights that we enjoy today,” he said.
This year, young and old definitely took notice of Merritt’s vigil.
Young Cochrane author Josie Neven-Pugh has written a poem in tribute to Merritt’s four-day vigil and Glenbow Elementary School has invited him to speak at their Remembrance Day ceremony.
One of the greatest honours for Merritt is that the Cochrane Legion has asked him to lay the wreath at their Remembrance Day ceremony for the Unknown Soldier at the cenotaph.
“It is the ultimate honour, coming from a military standpoint of view,” he said.
