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Sign in to My VAC AccountWhen 17-year old Harold Strul joined the Army Reserves in Montreal, he says he had no idea of the adventures he would take or the second family he would meet. He was still underage in 1987, so his parents had to give permission for him to join.
After 34 years of service, both in the Reserves and Regular Army, Harold is training for the Invictus Games and enjoying being part of a military family again.
Master Warrant Officer (Retd) Guylaine Lamoureux joined the navy in 1997 when she was 26 years old. A dental technician by trade, Guylaine—Gee for short—saw military service as an opportunity to use her training in new ways. The next 21 years were in turns inspiring, challenging, rewarding and heartbreaking.
The journey to life after service is rarely straightforward and often includes pitfalls, but when you are offered a hand or two so you can climb out of the hole, you can find your footing again.
When Sergeant (Retired) Guillaume Durand medically released from the army in 2021, he felt that everything had been taken from him, including his purpose and identity. Struggling with chronic pain and PTSD, Durand turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. He was even homeless for a time, feeling so alone.
Originally from a village near Roberval, Quebec, Colonel (Ret’d) Gratien Lamontagne would occasionally attend the great air show at the CFB Bagotville. As soon as he turned 18, he went to the CAF recruiting centre in the hopes of becoming a pilot. Unfortunately, he had to give up his childhood dream because he wore glasses.
Lieutenant-Commander (Ret'd) Gordon Coon enjoyed what he calls a perfect childhood in Eston, Saskatchewan. In Grade 10, he left school for a job in New Westminster making springs for motor vehicles. But after three years of apprenticing, new shock technology was changing how cars were made. Coon sensed that it might be time to move on.
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Losing his Dad in a tragic mill accident on Fathers’ Day at age eight, Gerry White’s life was marked by adversity.
During her first semester in nursing in CEGEP, her internship supervisor told her, “You’d make a good nurse, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what you want to do.” In her quest for unique adventures and experiences, Sergeant (Ret’d) Geneviève Gauthier decided to go to the CAF recruiting centre in Rimouski. Three weeks later, on the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landing, she enlisted. “It was as though it was meant to be.”
Born into an Acadian family in Mont-Carmel, Prince Edward Island, Mr. Gallant joined the Army and rose to the rank of Captain. He served two tours in Cyprus as Battery Captain as part of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) during the 1970s and 1980s. His methods helped many soldiers and his interventions most likely saved many lives, including many Greeks and Turks. Years later as a major, he became a UN Military Observer as part of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), maintaining the peace between Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
Francesca Colussi says she did not initially see herself serving in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). When she joined Cadets at her mother’s insistence, she hated it.
After a month, she loved training in the field with her fellow cadets. When she had the opportunity to drive a tank at the age of 15, she knew “that was it.” She wanted to be in the military.
When Military Police officer Corporal Erica Zadow pulled on her protective vest, she felt invincible.
“I think it’s easy when you’re a police officer to hide behind the vest. You feel bulletproof when you're in it—but you’re not,” the 34-year-old said.
An “army brat” following in her military parents’ footsteps, Zadow had aspirations of a long and storied career in the Canadian Armed Forces. Becoming a police officer in the military was a path she had long dreamed of taking.
