Fellow Comrade Brings Laughter

Heroes Remember

Fellow Comrade Brings Laughter

You know, I remember meeting up here in Toronto with Vanessa Larter who was a medic with us in my platoon and I brought up a story about one of the engineers that I worked very closely with over there, Steve May, East Coast newfie and I mean talk about having the right guy beside you to keep the morale up. We were engaged in a fire fight and I just remember standing there exchanging lead with the opposing forces in the ditches there and it was probably some of the most foul stuff that one could even think of. We were standing in this stuff and you’ll have to excuse my language on this one but Steve was down on his knees beside me also engaging and I just get this tap on my leg. I said, “Ya Steve, what do you want?” He goes, “Fitz, I guess you can really say we’ve been in the shit, eh boy?” And I said, “C’mon man, are you serious?” Just like moments like that, sit up, you know, it gets you going and those are the memories that I try to rely on now when I’m in these down moments that I get into nowadays.

Expressing the fun side of war, Collin shares a situation where morale was boosted during an intense situation.

Collin Fitzgerald

Mr. Collin Fitzgerald was born in Ottawa March 14, 1979. At the age of 8, Collin’s parents encouraged him to join the Cadet Program leading him towards becoming a reservist. At the age of 17 and with the inspiration of World War Two and Korea Veterans, Collin made the decision to transfer over to Regular Force joining the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He rose to the rank of Master Corporal after his 15 years of military service. In 2000 he attended battle school in Wainwright, Alberta, then posted to Winnipeg. In September of that same year he accepted a deployment to Bosnia. In 2006, Mr. Fitzgerald attached himself to 5 Platoon B Company and deployed to Afghanistan under the regiment, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Experiencing intense combat during his time in Afghanistan, Mr. Fitzgerald was presented the Sacrifice Medal for his services and courageous acts of duty towards his fellow comrades. Upon discharge from the military, Mr. Fitzgerald suffered with PTSD and with the help of many supporters he was able to reintegrate into civilian life. He presently is highly involved in giving back to the military community and is a strong advocate for Highway of Heroes and many other service related initiatives. Mr. Fitzgerald now resides in Kingston, Ontario.