Pte. Jess Randall Larochelle, RCR, recipient of Medal Star of Military Valor, Canada second highest medal of bravery in combat...Has passed away...

[Army Guy]

Thursday we lost a true Canadian hero, one that was honored by his selfless acts in combat by being issued the star of military valor....To his family and friends this hero will be missed by the entire Royal family. His sacrifice and bravery will be talked about for many years to come, he joins a long list of hero's that grace RCR museum, and walls of remembrance his name will always be used as someone to look up to and immolate as a soldier. may God bless you, May you rest in peace, and share a few beers with the rest of the fallen. 

Soldier praised for heroism in Afghanistan dies (msn.com)

 

[Dougie93]

27 minutes ago, Army Guy said:

Thursday we lost a true Canadian hero, one that was honored by his selfless acts in combat by being issued the star of military valor....To his family and friends this hero will be missed by the entire Royal family. His sacrifice and bravery will be talked about for many years to come, he joins a long list of hero's that grace RCR museum, and walls of remembrance his name will always be used as someone to look up to and immolate as a soldier. may God bless you, May you rest in peace, and share a few beers with the rest of the fallen. 

Soldier praised for heroism in Afghanistan dies (msn.com)

 

if he was British Army, he would have been awarded the Victoria Cross

the Slow March of the Royal Canadian Regiment is "Pro Patria"

played here by the band of the Coldstream Guards

sound the lament

[Army Guy]

The real problem with this is the governments failure to take another look at the medal request, even after many high profile people have written to the CDS and government on behalf of the member to get his award upgraded to the Victory cross...His actions warrant such an award, if you look at other nations soldiers who have been awarded a similar award, like medal of honor or British Victory cross...his actions easily meets or exceeds these standards...

And yet not one single Canadians soldier since Korea has been awarded the highest honor a Canadian soldier can be awarded...( the Canadian victory cross) it is almost as if that was decided before we stepped into Afghanistan, that this was a dirty mission, or NOT a single Canadian soldier that served in this place could ever live up to the standards already set by previous medal winners...Not sure where the blockage was be it within the military, or the political structure, i hope they suffer the same karma, This could have done wonders for the moral of those still in that fought on that bloody battle fields...It would have cost them nothing more than some ink...In todays world, where we desperately need more hero's to look up to, this was a lost opportunity. Soldiers don't do the things we do for medals, we do them for the soldier on the left and right of us,  but issuing this medal could have brought home to soldiers that our citizens were atleast paying attention to our sacrifices...a big swing and a miss. 

[cannuck]

One of my sons-in-law is a decorated Afgan vet and he and our daughter have worked extensively with troubled returned vets.  Not a lot of Canadians realize how great a price many of our soldiers paid for their service.

My condolences to the friends, family and compatriots of Pte. Larochelle.  He is a great loss to all of Canada.

2 minutes ago, cannuck said:

 

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by cannuck

[Dougie93]

21 hours ago, Army Guy said:

The real problem with this is the governments failure to take another look at the medal request, even after many high profile people have written to the CDS and government on behalf of the member to get his award upgraded to the Victory cross...His actions warrant such an award, if you look at other nations soldiers who have been awarded a similar award, like medal of honor or British Victory cross...his actions easily meets or exceeds these standards...

And yet not one single Canadians soldier since Korea has been awarded the highest honor a Canadian soldier can be awarded...( the Canadian victory cross) it is almost as if that was decided before we stepped into Afghanistan, that this was a dirty mission, or NOT a single Canadian soldier that served in this place could ever live up to the standards already set by previous medal winners...Not sure where the blockage was be it within the military, or the political structure, i hope they suffer the same karma, This could have done wonders for the moral of those still in that fought on that bloody battle fields...It would have cost them nothing more than some ink...In todays world, where we desperately need more hero's to look up to, this was a lost opportunity. Soldiers don't do the things we do for medals, we do them for the soldier on the left and right of us,  but issuing this medal could have brought home to soldiers that our citizens were atleast paying attention to our sacrifices...a big swing and a miss. 

the government is loathe to award a Victoria Cross, because it is a British medal created by HM Queen Victoria

the government seeks to erase that history, not promote it

originally, Canada rid itself of the Victoria Cross, replacing it with the Cross of Valour in 1972

the Canadian Victoria Cross was only reinstated in 1993

[Dougie93]

Jess Larochelle with his dog and his Harley Davidson Sportster

his brother Andrew said ;

“We know one of Jess’s favourite things to do was to hang out by a campfire, and that he would appreciate it if you had one in his honour.”

[Aristides]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:08 PM, Dougie93 said:

the government is loathe to award a Victoria Cross, because it is a British medal created by HM Queen Victoria

the government seeks to erase that history, not promote it

originally, Canada rid itself of the Victoria Cross, replacing it with the Cross of Valour in 1972

the Canadian Victoria Cross was only reinstated in 1993

Australia has awarded 4 VC's for service in Afghanistan. Obviously they don't have the same hangup when it comes to recognizing what is due.

[Dougie93]

12 hours ago, Aristides said:

Australia has awarded 4 VC's for service in Afghanistan. Obviously they don't have the same hangup when it comes to recognizing what is due.

Australia has similar hangups about anything English, or "Pommy" as the Aussies say

but Australia is a much more conservative culture when it comes to all things martial

there is no substitute for the Victoria Cross, you can't replace the gravitas of the VC, Aussies know

only Canada has ever tried to replace the VC, and that just ended up being another embarrassment

[Dougie93]

bear in mind the citation tho

“Although he was alone, severely injured, and under sustained enemy fire in his exposed position at the ruined observation post, he aggressively provided covering fire over the otherwise undefended flank of his company’s position, Private Larochelle’s heroic actions permitted the remainder of the company to defend their battle positions and to successfully fend off the sustained attack of more than 20 insurgents."

A private with 9 Platoon, Charles Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, Larochelle volunteered to man a perimeter observation post (OP) in the face of an impending attack by a numerically superior force of Taliban fighters.

It was Oct. 14, 2006, and Larochelle had no sooner taken up his position than it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), throwing the machine-gunner several metres back and into the rear wall of the OP.

The concussive blast and impact had knocked him out, broken his back, fractured two vertebrae in his neck, blown his right eardrum and detached his right retina. His spinal cord was intact, but he was peppered with shrapnel.

Larochelle regained consciousness, gathered his wits, and made his way to the position’s one surviving C6 machine gun. He didn’t know it yet, but two of his comrades were dead and pretty much the rest of his LAV III crew wounded by another RPG strike just a few metres away.

Their armoured vehicle, the forward-most of several on-site, along with its 25mm chain gun and machine gun, was virtually disabled for the duration of the battle. Larochelle was alone up front, the point man as some 40 enemy fighters closed on his position.

Under heavy fire from AK-47s and RPGs, including 75mm munitions packed with cluster rounds, Larochelle fired continuously in bursts of three to five 7.62mm rounds, his gun barrel smoking and shell casings piling up around him as he shot.

He fired multiple rounds from his position’s cache of 15 disposable M72 rocket launchers—lifesavers and devastating killers.

By the time the remaining attackers withdrew and the fighting had all but subsided an hour or so later, Larochelle was down to two M72s and the last 100 of his 800 heavy machine-gun rounds. The ground outside his OP was littered with dead Taliban. He was restocked after he volunteered to remain at his post for the night.

 

in the British, Australian or New Zealand Army's, that's a Victoria Cross, hands down, do doubt

literally only Canada would fail to award a VC for that valour in the face of overwhelming odds

[Dougie93]

what amounts to awarding a Victoria Cross, in a technical sense ?

1. Mortal Peril ;

the service member was killed, severely wounded, or exposed to being killed or severely wounded

*check*

2.  Savior of Comrades

the actions taken by the service member saved the lives of his comrades

*check*

3. Victorious Outcome

the actions taken by the service member snatched victory from the jaws of defeat

*check*

4. Overwhelming Odds

the service member was undaunted despite facing the forlorn hope

*check*

5. Selfless Sacrifice

the actions taken by the service member were in utter disregard for their own safety & welfare

*check*

6. Esprit de Corps

the service member displayed the highest standards honour & daring in the presence of the enemy

*check*

Larochelle checked every box, this was not a marginal case, this shouldn't even have been debated

this was the first ever Canadian Victoria Cross action since the inception of the award in 1993

woe be to Canada for failing to recognize it

Edited September 8, 2023 by Dougie93

[Iceni warrior]

5 hours ago, Dougie93 said:

bear in mind the citation tho

“Although he was alone, severely injured, and under sustained enemy fire in his exposed position at the ruined observation post, he aggressively provided covering fire over the otherwise undefended flank of his company’s position, Private Larochelle’s heroic actions permitted the remainder of the company to defend their battle positions and to successfully fend off the sustained attack of more than 20 insurgents."

A private with 9 Platoon, Charles Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, Larochelle volunteered to man a perimeter observation post (OP) in the face of an impending attack by a numerically superior force of Taliban fighters.

It was Oct. 14, 2006, and Larochelle had no sooner taken up his position than it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), throwing the machine-gunner several metres back and into the rear wall of the OP.

The concussive blast and impact had knocked him out, broken his back, fractured two vertebrae in his neck, blown his right eardrum and detached his right retina. His spinal cord was intact, but he was peppered with shrapnel.

Larochelle regained consciousness, gathered his wits, and made his way to the position’s one surviving C6 machine gun. He didn’t know it yet, but two of his comrades were dead and pretty much the rest of his LAV III crew wounded by another RPG strike just a few metres away.

Their armoured vehicle, the forward-most of several on-site, along with its 25mm chain gun and machine gun, was virtually disabled for the duration of the battle. Larochelle was alone up front, the point man as some 40 enemy fighters closed on his position.

Under heavy fire from AK-47s and RPGs, including 75mm munitions packed with cluster rounds, Larochelle fired continuously in bursts of three to five 7.62mm rounds, his gun barrel smoking and shell casings piling up around him as he shot.

He fired multiple rounds from his position’s cache of 15 disposable M72 rocket launchers—lifesavers and devastating killers.

By the time the remaining attackers withdrew and the fighting had all but subsided an hour or so later, Larochelle was down to two M72s and the last 100 of his 800 heavy machine-gun rounds. The ground outside his OP was littered with dead Taliban. He was restocked after he volunteered to remain at his post for the night.

 

in the British, Australian or New Zealand Army's, that's a Victoria Cross, hands down, do doubt

literally only Canada would fail to award a VC for that valour in the face of overwhelming odds

Completely agree.

It reads just like multiple previous VC citations.

[Dougie93]

3 hours ago, Iceni warrior said:

Completely agree.

It reads just like multiple previous VC citations.

and yet this literal Canadian war hero dies anonymously, at forty years of age

barely anyone in Canada even knows who he was

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Dougie93

[Iceni warrior]

9 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

and yet this literal Canadian war hero dies anonymously, at forty years of age

barely anyone in Canada even knows who he was

Pipe Major, sound the lament, for this travesty

It's a scandal.

[Dougie93]

2 minutes ago, Iceni warrior said:

It's a scandal.

I have no more love in my heart for this Confederation

if Jess Larochelle can be forgotten so easily

I see no more reason to defend nor uphold Canada

[Iceni warrior]

Three VCs were awarded by the British army for actions in Afghanistan. Two posthumously. 

Two members of the Parachute regiment and one Grenadier Guard.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here who could name even one of them.

I don't think it's just Canada that forgets its war heroes.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Iceni warrior

[Dougie93]

2 minutes ago, Iceni warrior said:

Three VCs were awarded by the British army for actions in Afghanistan. Two posthumously.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here who could name even one of them.

I don't think it's just Canada that forgets its war heroes.

 

I don't look to the United Kingdom for guidance

British is not a race, British is not a place

I am British North American

and we remembered our heroes

the first Canadian Victoria Cross was awarded to Alexander Roberts Dunn

the last Canadian Victoria Cross was awarded to Robert Hampton Gray

[Dougie93]

tho it could be argued that the first Canadian Victoria Cross was awarded to William Hall in 1857

the son of former American slaves, born at Horton, Nova Scotia in 1827

enlisted in the Royal Navy at Liverpool in 1852

https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/collections/william-hall-vc

[Dougie93]

the most famous Canadian Victoria Cross awarded

was arguably to Ernest "Smokey" Smith of New Westminster British Columbia

serving with The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada

landed at Pachino

fought at Ortona

awarded the VC at the crossing of the Savio River in 1944

Cuidich 'n Righ

[WestCanMan]

48 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

I have no more love in my heart for this Confederation

if Jess Larochelle can be forgotten so easily

I see no more reason to defend nor uphold Canada

If he was a barista and someone called him fat, more Canadians would know about him. 

[Dougie93]

39 minutes ago, WestCanMan said:

If he was a barista and someone called him fat, more Canadians would know about him. 

it twists in my guts like a rusty knife

that the first Canadian VC was not awarded to Jess Larochelle

nothing more could have been done, he literally did all that could be done

his actions exceed those of many awarded the VC in the First & Second World Wars

broken back, shrapnel in the spine, blind in one eye, deaf in one ear

outnumbered by the Taliban forty to one

and yet he stood and delivered, and won the engagement

then volunteered to hold the line all night, despite his wounds

Edited September 9, 2023 by Dougie93

[Aristides]

2 hours ago, Dougie93 said:

I don't look to the United Kingdom for guidance

British is not a race, British is not a place

I am British North American

and we remembered our heroes

the first Canadian Victoria Cross was awarded to Alexander Roberts Dunn

the last Canadian Victoria Cross was awarded to Robert Hampton Gray

Gray was serving in the Royal Navy when he was awarded his posthumous VC.

[Army Guy]

2 hours ago, Iceni warrior said:

Three VCs were awarded by the British army for actions in Afghanistan. Two posthumously. 

Two members of the Parachute regiment and one Grenadier Guard.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here who could name even one of them.

I don't think it's just Canada that forgets its war heroes.

 

No disrespect intended, but there names will live on as long as the battalion has infra structure , walls to hang his photo on, his story will be just below his photo and they will inspire other soldiers to the same actions....soldier do what they do not for country, or it's citizens...they do it for the serving men and women on the left and right of them... if we left their remembrance to our countries citizens, well we would have been long forgotten decades ago....Todays Canadian do not care what happens to it's soldiers, look at the way we treat our veterans, and those that serve.

I've questions my service to this country many times...but never the people i served with...

[Dougie93]

12 hours ago, Aristides said:

Gray was serving in the Royal Navy when he was awarded his posthumous VC.

all Canadians who served overseas in the Second World War and prior to

did so under British command

and all Canadian VC's are Imperial Victoria Crosses

so if you don't count Robert Hampton Gray's VC as Canadian, you wouldn't count any as being Canadian

the Canadian Victoria Cross has never been awarded

[Dougie93]

again, for perspective

another Victoria Cross awarded to a Canadian in the Great War

Major George Harry Mullin, Pricness Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

 born in Portland, Oregon, in 1892. He immigrated with his family to Moosomin, Saskatchewan, at the age of two. Mullin enlisted in December 1915 and served in the scout and sniper section of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. As a sergeant at the Battle of Passchendaele, Mullin single-handedly captured a German pill box that had caused heavy casualties among the Canadian troops. His citation in the London Gazette recounts how Mullin:

… rushed a sniper’s post in front, destroyed the garrison with bombs, and, crawling on to the top of the “Pill-box,” he shot the two machine-gunners with his revolver. Mullin then rushed to another entrance and compelled the garrison of ten to surrender. … [Mullin] not only helped to save the situation, but also indirectly saved many lives.

London Gazette, no. 30471, 11 January 1918

Sergeant Mullin was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions, finishing the war as a lieutenant. He was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Saskatchewan legislature in 1934. He served in the Veterans Guard during the Second World War. Major Mullin died in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1963.

Victoria Patricia

[WestCanMan]

In the NHL they have the Ted Lindsay Award, which is voted on by the members of the NHLPA.

A lot of NHLers consider it the most cherished award of all.

Maybe you guys who served overseas should organize your own award and ceremony.

It would be pretty cool if a contingent of combat veterans from the 22nd, RCR and PPCLI all voted him in and had a ceremony for him. 

This would bypass all the bureaucratic BS and modern sensibilities/prejudices and just be a soldier's choice type of award. Fack everyone else.

The opinions of every other Canadian put together don't mean a damned thing in this sense, as far as I'm concerned. I have no clue what it was like for guys over there, and probably none of the higher-ups in our military know what it's like to have to be that guy who takes a fwd position like Larochelle did. 

Any Canadian with any normal job who took on 1% of the risk that combat veterans take every time they go out on patrol would get an award.

Edited September 10, 2023 by WestCanMan