Virginia Hicks, whose daughter died in a 2002 training accident, says Canadians should share the same grief when service deaths happen in Canada as she prepares to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial on Wednesday.
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Virginia Hicks, the Royal Canadian Legion’s Canada Silver Cross mother, says she felt “like someone had poured cold water” after learning of a fatal training accident at CFB Wainwright, Alta., last month.
Hicks’s comments came after she learned that four people were killed and dozens more were injured when a grass fire broke out during a training exercise and strong winds carried it across the training range. She said she understands the fear and loss felt by other families because her own daughter, Mariebeth Short, died in a military training accident 24 years ago.
Hicks will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial during Remembrance Day ceremonies in the capital on Wednesday on behalf of Canadian mothers whose children died in military service.
Short was a sapper in a combat engineer regiment who died in 2002 when the light armoured vehicle she was travelling in rolled over in Petawawa, Ont. Hicks said Short was 22 when she died, would have turned 46 in January, and joined the forces in 2000. She described her daughter as smart, funny and extremely confident, saying Short completed tasks “regardless of how long it took her.”
Hicks said Short was first on the list to drive the LAV during training and, just before the accident, had switched positions so she could stand outside the gunner’s hatch to watch what was happening. Hicks said the vehicle’s tires caught in an old trench, the front left wheel assembly snapped off, and the vehicle rolled over twice.
According to Hicks, she and her husband Brian were living in Halifax at the time, and Brian recognized the padre at about 7 p.m. when a military-plate vehicle arrived. Hicks said she and her husband travelled to Ottawa within 24 hours and then went on to CFB Petawawa.
Hicks said the family did not learn the outcome of the official investigation until Nov. 11, 2003, the day before she was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, and it took additional months to obtain the accident reports. She said the investigation concluded the vehicle’s front wheel assembly had a substandard weld, which she said changed her understanding of what happened.
Hicks said her view of responsibility shifted to the factory floor rather than the individuals involved in the training. She said the family tried to sue the manufacturer, but the company declared bankruptcy and she did not feel she received closure.
As for the Wainwright deaths, Hicks said her message to those affected is to hold tight and be patient while investigations proceed, warning against “rumours or innuendoes.” She said investigators will find out what happened and why, and she urged the public to allow time for the process.
She also said she believes many Canadians do not understand that the grief is the same when tragedy occurs during peacetime. Hicks added that while people may recognize the sorrow when deaths happen overseas, a training death in Canada is just as important because service members are preparing to go abroad where Canada’s government sends troops.
The deaths at Wainwright last month involved Sgt. Morgan Wong of Edmonton, Pte. Shaun Farrell of Prince Albert, Sask., Pte. Aidan Goulding of North Vancouver and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark of Langley, B.C. According to the Department of National Defence, as of Nov. 4, 14 of the personnel who suffered burn injuries had been released from hospital while 25 remained hospitalized.
Hicks said she visits the accident site connected to her daughter every year, saying the Canadian Armed Forces has allowed her to return to regimental buildings and visit a monument created for fallen members. She said she found military support more responsive than the manufacturer, adding that there was never any “I’m sorry.”
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