Courage comes in many forms, an Afghanistan veteran told Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School students Wednesday.
“If you stick up for someone, you’re courageous. If you keep going despite obstacles, you’re courageous,” Master Cpl. Drew Adkins told the crowd of about 1,800 students.
“Anyone can be courageous.”
Adkins, 28, a Thurber 2002 alumnus, joined the 749 Communications Squadron as a reservist while in Grade 11.
A 2005 deployment had him in Syria and last year he spent seven months in Kandahar during the last Canadian combat deployment in Afghanistan.
“You need to stand up for what’s right even if it means you might be harmed in some way,” he said, speaking of the 158 Canadians killed during the Afghan war.
“Courage and determination have been major factors in our fight against terrorism. We remember those we’ve lost and those we left behind to carry on the work.
Remember their fighting spirit and courage,” said Adkins, who works as an emergency medical technician in Lacombe.
Adkins spoke during the school’s Remembrance Day service, which also featured multimedia tributes to Canadian Forces efforts over the years as well as student art, poetry, music and dance. Adkins now works as an emergency medical technician in
Premier Alison Redford was to attend the event, but couldn’t fly out of Edmonton due to heavy snow and poor visibility.