Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
The Jasper Royal Canadian Legion paid respects to women veterans and their contributions to Canada during a ceremony at the Jasper Cenotaph on Nov. 9.
Retired Warrant Officer Louise Abdou, with 1 Field Ambulance, placed the wreath at the cenotaph after offering remarks.
鈥淲hen we think of war, we don鈥檛 automatically associate it with women, and women, we鈥檝e been called on to serve in multiple ways all through alongside men in all times of war,鈥� Abdou said.
Canadian women initially served in the military as nurses and were called 鈥淣ursing Sisters鈥� as they were originally drawn from the ranks of religious orders.
More than 2,800 Canadian Nursing Sisters served with the Army Medical Corps during World War I, often near the front lines, but were not allowed to serve in other military roles.
In World War II, women served again as nurses but were also in other military roles with about 50,000 eventually enlisted in the air force, army and navy.
When the Canadian military unified and modernized in the late 鈥�60s, this started to allow women to enlist and enter non-traditional roles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been estimated that since confederation nearly 200 women have died while serving in the Canadian military, and it鈥檚 important to take the time to think about those women and to remember all the women who have served our country in times of war, military conflict and peace,鈥� Abdou said.
鈥淭here are lots of brave and interesting women with whom I could talk about today, women like ourselves who felt a calling to help wherever we could.鈥�
She made special mention to Edith Cavell, a British nurse who saved the lives of soldiers from both sides during World War I and helped over 250 Allied soldiers escape German-occupied Belgium, for which she was arrested and later executed.
A mountain in Jasper Mountain Park was named after Cavell.
This is the Jasper Legion鈥檚 inaugural celebration of women veterans and is part of VetFest, which lasted for the first two weeks of November.
鈥淲e look forward to this being an ever-growing and popular event,鈥� said Greg Key, vice-president of the Jasper Legion.
