A Cariboo couple are embarking on a mission to change the face of Canadian military veterans.
Paul and Terry Nichols of Quesnel are setting off in a couple weeks on an eight-month, 11,000-kilometre, Canada-wide journey on horseback.
They are setting off in April from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland, raising money and awareness for Canadian military vets. The couple have started the Communities For Veterans Foundation (CVF).
A fundraising dinner was held at Royal Canadian Legion Branch #260-100 Mile House on March 29
Paul currently serves with the Fourth Canadian Ranger Patrol Group. He’s a former member of the Calgary Highlanders, a Canadian Armed Forces land reserve infantry unit. He served during the UN Mission in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Terry is a therapeutic horse riding instructor.
While crossing the country, Paul and Terry will ride with veterans through their own communities along the way. They expect the ride to take about 200 days.
The CVF Ride Across Canada leaves Victoria on April 13. In the lead up, Paul and Terry are visiting communities closer to home in support of their endeavour.
Speaking before the dinner in 100 Mile House, Paul says the ride’s objective is to change the face of Canadian veterans. When the general public thinks of military vets, their first thought is typically Second World War veterans, he explains, adding it’s time people recognize there have been three generations of troops that have served since then.
“There is no doubt in my mind the Canadian people love their troops, but often times we don’t know who they are.”
Paul also talks about some challenges he faced adapting to civilian life upon his return from the peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia, which saw bloody ethnic conflicts for close to a decade throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
He tells a story about meeting a shopkeeper in Vancouver, a survivor of the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted nearly four years and claimed the lives of more than 5,000 civilians. She recognized the crest on his jacket and cried and thanked him for his service.
“That’s the point I realized there was a lot of healing power in a shared story.”
Paul and Terry have been making several stops a day with their horses in tow on their way to Victoria.
“We believe in this,” says Terry before the dinner in 100 Mile House. “Everywhere we go, everywhere we speak, people are behind it.”
