People at work: Master Corporal Darry Gagnon
News Article / January 18, 2013
It’s a long way from the Saguenay, Que., to Vimy Ridge, France. For one citizen, Master Corporal Darry Gagnon, it was a trip he would never have imagined taking while growing up in the Saguenay.
Growing up in such close proximity to the air base at 3 Wing Bagotville, Que., MCpl Gagnon, now an aviation technician with 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron, based at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont., says this influenced his decision to join the Canadian Armed Forces a decade ago.
A distinguished member of the squadron, MCpl Gagnon was recognized as the top performer of the squadron in 2011 and awarded the title of “Lion of the Year”. Because of this accomplishment, he was chosen to represent the squadron at the unveiling of a commemorative cairn in Écurie, France, on Nov. 4, 2012. The cairn commemorates the loss of a crew from 427 Squadron on June 13, 1944, when their Halifax Mk III crashed on the outskirts of Écurie following a bombing mission of the train yards in Arras.
He also read the “Act of Remembrance” at the Remembrance Day ceremonies at Vimy Ridge and Beaumont Hamel in France on behalf of the Canadian Armed Forces. Representing the squadron and the CF, MCpl Gagnon endured the pelting rains at Vimy Ridge and the blustery cold at Beaumont Hamel to make emotional presentations in memory of the losses of so many young soldiers in the last century.
As one of MCpl Gagnon’s former commanding officers, it was with great pride that I observed this young technician so capably represent our country and squadron in this manner. There is no doubt in my mind that the freedoms we so freely exercise today came at a great cost – one in that is indelibly marked upon MCpl Gagnon.
MCpl Darry Gagnon represents the finest of his generation of airmen. Proudly Quebecois, proudly Canadian and proudly representing his country in uniform wherever and whenever called upon.