Members of the Canadian military, including five Newfoundlanders, will be awarded valour and meritorious service decorations on Friday.
Governor General Michaelle Jean will present one Star of Military Valour and 10 Medals of Military Valour as well as six Meritorious Service Crosses (Military Division) and 31 Meritorious Service Medals (Military Division) to members of the Canadian Forces at Rideau Hall, on Friday morning.
The Star of Military Valour and Medals of Military Valour are presented to those who have displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat, while the Meritorious Service Crosses and Meritorious Service Medals are given to those whose specific achievements have brought honour to Canada.
Master Cpl. Michael Bursey from Conception Bay South and stationed in Shilo Man., will be awarded the Medal of Military Valour for helping to pull casualties from an ongoing attack on a light armoured vehicle in the Zharey district of Afghanistan, in September 2008.
Warrant Officer Robin John Crane, from Bay Bulls and posted in Edmonton, Alta., will be receiving the Medal of Military Valour with his comrade Cpl. Tyler Brian Myroniuk.
On August 4, 2008, the two stayed in the middle of a complex ambush in the Panjwayi district of Afghanistan to extract an Afghan casualty and support another Canadian soldier who was caught in the open. Together, they stood against over 30 insurgents using small arms fire and, when their ammunition was depleted, resorted to hand grenades to hold off the enemy.
Warrant Officer Dale Milton Verge, of Stephenville and Beachside, is being awarded the Medal of Military Valour. He was injured on March 30, 2008 in an attack on a police station in Spin Pir, Afghanistan, but continued to fight.
Also receiving the Medal of Military Valour will be Sgt. Martin Joseph Jean Cote of Quebec, Cpl. Mark Ejdrygiewicz, Cpl. Tyler Brian Myroniuk, Cpl. Jordan Kochan and Sgt. Jayson William Kapitaniuk of Alberta, Master Cpl. Brent Gallant of Nova Scotia, and Cpl. Anthony Rotondi of Ontario.
Receiving the Meritorious Service Cross are Master Warrant Officer Rodney Albert Dearing, of British Columbia, Chief Warrant Officer Giovanni Moretti and Cmdr. Pierre Christophe Dickinson of Quebec, Gen. Raymond Roland Joseph Henault (Ret.) of Manitoba, Lt.-Col. Darryl Albert Mills of New Brunswick and Brig.-Gen. Denis William Thompson of Ontario.
Maj. James Edward Allen, originally of St. John’s and posted in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his work with Afghan leaders on behalf of multinational aid agencies ensuring development projects were deployed where they were most needed. As well, his work with district government officials improved governance and security across 10 districts of Kandahar.
Capt. (N) Brendan Ryan of Placentia and stationed in Nova Scotia is receiving the Meritorious Service Medal for his work as the commanding officer of HMCS Iroquois and deputy commander of Task Force Arabian Sea, from April to October 2008.
Also being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal are Cmdr. Kelly Brian Larkin, Warrant Officer Todd Barry Buchanan, Master Cpl. Jacob Petten, Cpl. John Clifton Wayne Prior, Maj. Trevor Patrick Gosselin, Cmdr. Joseph Honore Patrick St-Denis (Ret.) and Col. Jamieson Cade, all of British Columbia, as well as Maj. Stacy Allan Grubb of Manitoba, Warrant Officer Terence Charles Wolaniuk and Maj. Michael Roy Deutsch of Alberta, Warrant Officer Michael Patrick Forest, Maj. John Robert Prudent Latulippe, Col. Jean-Francois Riffou, and Maj. Joseph Antonio Marcel Louis Hamel of Quebec and Lt.-Col. Martha-Anne Paule Stouffer, Cpl. Rory E. Swanson, Cpl. Cameron M. Smithers, Maj. Robert Tennant Ritchie, Maj. Catherine Enid Potts, Cpl. Marc Murray, Col. Vihar Govind Joshi, Warrant Officer Kevin Thomas Johnson, Col. Bernd Horn and Col. Yann John Hidiroglou (Ret.) of Ontario.
From Atlantic Canada, Cmdr. Steven Paget, Maj. Christopher Robin Henderson and Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Paul Gourley of Nova Scotia and Cmdr. John Aubrey Williston and Warrant Officer Jason Guy Pickard of New Brunswick will all receive the Meritorious Service Medal.
Warrant Officer David George Shultz of Alberta will be given the Star of Military Valour for his work in Afghanistan.