Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

The many Canadians involved in the investigation and recovery after the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia were offered true Maritime hospitality.

On the night of the crash, Military Chef Larry Bergeron got the call to report to the Emergency Response headquarters in Halifax. His logistical mission was to “support whatever was required” to keep the troops well fed, and to get them anything they needed from the base.

When he arrived at the sites where troops were deployed on land and sea, he realized he had the support of many East Coast volunteers who had rallied to deliver sandwiches, meals, thermoses of tea, bottles of water. “It was really heartwarming. Maritimers really pull together; you could feel that. I was proud to be there.”

Bergeron learned early in his career as a military chef how important it is to keep the troops well fed.

“When you’re in the military, you’re trained right in the beginning that food is the morale of the armed forces.”

Bergeron grew up enjoying his Navy Dad’s Michelin-quality French cooking. He knew he wanted to be a chef and he knew he wanted to join the Navy. So he did, at age 17. As a young able seaman on a battleship, he fed his troops four meals a day.

His military career led him to prepare meals for foreign dignitaries, prime ministers, governor generals and countless Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members. “Soldiers cannot walk on an empty stomach. That’s how we win our wars. We keep them well fed,” he said. “Imagine yourself on an exercise and it’s October or November and it’s raining and you’re cold, it’s miserable and there are these soldiers digging trenches in the mud. Then a cook shows up with hot donuts and hot chocolate in the trenches.”

And that’s what Bergeron did, in the fall of 1998, for his troops working on the recovery following the crash of Swissair Flight 111.

He’ll never forget the discouragement and fatigue of those combing the shores of southern Nova Scotia for wreckage and human remains—the Navy divers, the RCMP forensics teams.

“I saw many, many faces with so many expressions of distress and sadness,” he said. “I would stop and offer food, water. I just made sure that these people didn’t walk on an empty stomach.”

Bergeron offered a little respite of nutritious food and a compassionate ear.

“Sometimes you need that break. It’s just a matter of chilling out, sit down on a rock or a beach and talk about what is happening,” he said.

“You have to take care of your people, it’s important.”

He and his team also fed the families of the Swissair Flight 111 victims when they arrived to large green Red Cross tents at Peggy’s Cove.

“We tried to give them anything we could,” he said.

In 1999, Bergeron retired from the CAF and he and his wife settled back in Nova Scotia where he was hired as a culinary instructor at the Nova Scotia Community College. He started his own program - Boulanger and Baking Arts, Small Business and Entrepreneurship– the only course of its kind in Canada.

Today, he hangs out with his horses, volunteers his time to help Veterans suffering from PTSD, paints animal portraits and plays classical guitar. He is still helping Swissair Veterans through horse therapy at his private equestrian centre on Nova Scotia’s south shore.

“The Swissair Flight 111 tragedy is still very alive here on the premises. People are still hurting inside because it’s buried so deep. I can relate. Twenty-five years later we are still talking about it. You can’t forget. It was a disaster.”

When Veterans come, he introduces them to one of his two horses—Sergeant Major Tino and Captain Max.

“It’s magical. If the person feels a lot of stress inside, the horse will back off,” he explains. “The minute I get the individual to calm down, the horse comes right back to them.”

Bergeron said clients can sometimes share things with a horse that they can’t say to a person.

“They’re animals of prey so they’re always on alert to sounds, voices and movements,” he said.

“I’ve seen that many hearts are broken. The horses listen.”

With courage, integrity and loyalty, Larry Bergeron is leaving his mark. He is one of our Canadian Armed Forces members. Discover more stories.

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