Veteran of War in Afghanistan speaks to KDSS students at Remembrance Day service

Master Corporal Matthew Patterson of Hanover served a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan and said his most memorable moment was spending time with two brothers who hoped to become a doctor and a lawyer some day.

Speaking at the Kincardine District Secondary School Remembrance Day service, Thursday morning, Patterson said he attended high school at John Diefenbaker Secondary School in Hanover and was in his third year of a Bachelor of Music degree at Queen's University in Kingston when he decided to join the military.

"During my third year of university, on Sept. 10, 2001, at 7 p.m., I enlisted," he said. "Fourteen hours later, two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre. My initial plan had been to serve as a Peacekeeper, but suddenly, overnight, we became combat soldiers with NATO."

Patterson said joining the military was something he wanted to do so he could see parts of the world that people never get to see. After extensive training, he travelled overseas in 2004 where he served for six months. He returned to Canada in 2005, met his wife and that was the end of his touring career. For the next two-and-a-half years, he worked as an instructor.

"I love the military," he said. "It's a great job. If you're interested, it's worth pursuing. And it's great to serve in the Canadian military - it's something to be proud of."

Patterson said while in Afghanistan, he met two boys, aged 11 and 9, who were brothers, part of a group of youth that was friendly with the soldiers. "We gave them a U.S. dollar for bread and we'd share it with them. It took these brothers a month to open up. The older brother said that when the kids were five years old, at their first day of school, they were taught how to handle an AK-47 assault rifle. He wanted to be a doctor and his brother wanted to become a lawyer. I hope they were able to pursue their dreams."

Using a slide show, Patterson showed the assembly what it was like in Afghanistan during Operation Athena, including photos of the capital city, Kabul, with its demolished and bullet-ridden buildings, and clogged streets full of people and vehicles.

"They had only one streetlight in the city, and it didn't work," he said. "You'd be driving down a four-lane street, but it was more like six or seven lanes because the people just drove wherever they wanted."

He showed pictures of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that the enemy hid all over the place to try and blow up vehicles and soldiers. "There are 10-million mines in that country. It would take 2,000 years to remove them all."

During a brief question period, Patterson was asked if the situation has improved in Afghanistan since he left in 2005.

"We thought it had," he said, "but many of the improvements we made have declined. When we were there, one-million girls were enrolled in school, but that has since declined. There are more laws now that allow men to demand rights of their wives. It certainly is not what we had hoped would happen."

Patterson said his common response when someone asks him how he's doing, is "I'm living the dream."

"This was certainly true after I came home from Afghanistan," he said. "I am so thankful for what I have. I'm grateful for everything."

Patterson and his wife have three daughters - the third one just arrived last week. He is a music teacher at Saugeen Central Public School in Port Elgin.

The Legion Remembrance Day service began with the veterans and dignitaries piped in by Nathan Smith of the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band, a student at KDSS. Among the dignitaries, were Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie, Kincardine Legion president Mary Farrell, and veterans Charles Mann, Keith Armstrong, Freeman Hussey, Jim McDonald, Adrian Green and Jim Wade. The Colour Party included Mike Dupuis, Adrian Green, Robert Fletcher and Peggy Griffin.

Serena Rutledge sang "O Canada," and Avery Fitzgerald, Rylee Evans and Kara Colhoun made presentations about why we gather for Remembrance Day.

Victoria Weber played "The Last Post" on the trumpet, followed by two minutes of silence, "The Lament" by Nathan, and "Reveille" by Victoria.

KDSS teacher Dan Weigand, organizer of the service, welcomed four students to make a presentation about local soldiers, members of the 160th Bruce Battalion, who served in the First World War. They told the stories of:
 

• Sergeant William Victor Tranter of Southampton, a member of the 1st Battalion who enlisted in Valcartier, Quebec Sept. 22, 1914. He died June 10, 1915
• The Bell brothers - Norval, Wilton, Clifford and Bertram - of Dunkeld, near Walkerton, all enlisted in Kincardine. Bertram, Clifford and Norval served overseas - only Bertrand came home after being wounded in the Battle of Amiens, at the age of 21. Norval and his twin brother, Clfford, were both killed during the second Battle of Arras at age 25. Folklore states that the Town of Kincardine objected to four sons from one family going into the same army unit, so Wilton was put in charge of shoeing horses and did not see battle. He was missing half a finger, but lived out his days in Kincardine after the war, until his death.
• George Whitford Nelson of Elsinore, who became a Lieutenant-Colonel with the 18th Battalion. He returned to Canada.
• Private Orwell "Orrie" James Daniel of Kincardine, who was killed in battle, Aug. 27, 1918

Of the 1,260 men of the 160th Bruce Battalion, 99 were killed and 300 were wounded.

Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie read the "Act of Remembrance." She thanked the teachers, students and everyone who took part in the ceremony.

"I was particularly moved by the part about the First World War and the boys from the Bruce Battalion," she said. "My grandfather played baseball with the Bell brothers when they were growing up. He always told us they were wonderful lads and then he would get this faraway look in his eyes."

The service ended with the singing of "God Save the Queen."

The Kincardine Remembrance Day service will be held Friday, Nov. 11, at the Kincardine Legion, beginning in the hall at 10 a.m., and continuing outside at 10:45 a.m. with the placing of wreaths and the Remembrance Day ceremony.