Virginia Hicks did not know when the Royal Canadian Legion chose her as Canada’s Silver Cross mother in June that a deadly training accident would soon cast a shadow over this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies.
asserted
accident → know → ceremonies
Hicks lost one of her own daughters, Mariebeth Short, in a military training accident 24 years ago.
asserted
Hicks → lose → accident
Hicks said she was shocked to learn of the fire that broke out during a training exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alta., last month, claiming four lives and injuring dozens more.
asserted
that → say → dozens
“When we were watching the news, my husband and I, we heard about the accident in Wainwright and it was like someone had poured cold water over you.
asserted
someone → watch → you
Hicks told The Canadian Press in an interview.
asserted
Hicks → tell → interview
“You think, those parents, I can feel their heart.
asserted
I → think → heart
I know what they’re going through.”
asserted
they → know → what
Hicks said many Canadians do not understand that “the grief is the same” when tragedy strikes during peacetime.
asserted
tragedy → say → peacetime
“When someone dies in theatre, everybody is very sad.
asserted
everybody → die → theatre
That is tragic because they’ve died away from their loved ones.
asserted
they → die → ones
They’ve died in a different country,” she said.
asserted
she → die → country
“But when someone is in Canada and is training and they die in training, that’s just as important because they are training to go over to these places where the government has put our name on the line saying we can go.”
asserted
we → train → line
Hicks, who lives in Frankford, Ont., will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial during the Remembrance Day ceremonies in the capital on Wednesday on behalf of Canadian mothers whose children died in military service.
asserted
children → live → service
Her daughter Mariebeth Short, a sapper in a combat engineer regiment, died in 2002 when the light armoured vehicle she was travelling in rolled over in Petawawa, Ont.
Sapper Short was 4 foot 11 and about 95 pounds.
asserted
was → die → Petawawa
Hicks described her daughter as smart, funny and extremely confident — a spirited personality who relished any opportunity to surprise those who underestimated her.
“You could never give her a task that she would not complete, regardless of how long it took her,” Hicks said.
uncertain
Hicks → describe → her
“Anybody that worked with her gave her 100 per cent credit because they at first assumed that she couldn’t do the hard jobs.
asserted
she → work → jobs
“She was just as big as the six-foot fellows in her unit and anybody else that wanted to contest her, she showed them they were wrong.”
asserted
they → want → them
Short was 22 when she died.
asserted
she → die → ?
She would have turned 46 in January.
asserted
She → turn → January
Short joined the forces in 2000.
asserted
Short → join → 2000
She wanted to see the world and find a career she could be proud of, Hicks said.
uncertain
Hicks → want → career
Short came from four generations of military — both her parents served.
asserted
parents → come → military
Hicks had served for more than ten years when her daughter died,
asserted
daughter → serve → years
On Sept. 23, 2002, Short called her mother at work and said she was really excited because she was first on the list to drive the LAV during training.
asserted
she → call → training
Just before the accident, Short had switched positions with another combat engineer so she could stand outside the gunner’s hatch to watch what was going on.
uncertain
what → switch → hatch
As the vehicle came down the hill, its tires caught in an old trench.
asserted
tires → come → trench
The front left wheel assembly snapped off, causing the vehicle to roll over twice.
asserted
vehicle → snap → ?
Hicks and her husband Brian had just moved into a new home in Halifax.
asserted
Hicks → move → Halifax
Brian was finishing up some odd jobs outside the house at around 7 p.m. when a vehicle with military plates pulled into the driveway.
asserted
vehicle → finish → driveway
He quickly recognized the padre from his collar badges.
asserted
He → recognize → badges
Within 24 hours, a grieving Hicks and her husband were on a plane to Ottawa and headed to CFB Petawawa.
asserted
Hicks → grieve → Petawawa
It still took just over a year after the accident for Short’s family to learn what the official investigation concluded.
asserted
investigation → take → what
That news came on Nov. 11, 2003, a day before Hicks was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan.
asserted
Hicks → come → Kabul
It would take many more months for her to obtain the accident reports.
asserted
her → take → reports
They concluded the vehicle’s front wheel assembly had a substandard weld.
asserted
assembly → conclude → weld
The information changed Hicks’ view of the accident — it was not the fault of anyone involved in the training, she said, but was caused by someone on the factory floor.
asserted
she → change → floor
The family tried to sue the manufacturer but the company went on to declare bankruptcy.
asserted
company → try → bankruptcy
She never got closure.
asserted
She → get → closure
Every year, Hicks visits the site where the accident happened.
asserted
accident → visit → site
“They’ve allowed us go back into the regimental buildings and to the monument that they have created for their fallen members,” Hicks said of the Canadian Armed Forces.
asserted
Hicks → allow → Forces
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
