The Royal Canadian Legion announces 2020-2021 National Silver Cross Mother
OTTAWA, Nov. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Royal Canadian Legion is proud to present this year’s National Silver Cross Mother, Mrs. Deborah Sullivan of Summerville, New Brunswick. She will represent Silver Cross Mothers across Canada until the end of October, 2021.
“The role and symbolism of the National Silver Cross Mother is important to the Legion and to other military families in our country,” says Thomas D. Irvine, CD, Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion. “As a Veteran herself, Mrs. Sullivan and her family have served our country with strength, and sacrifice. We salute them during this Remembrance period, and beyond.”
Mrs. Sullivan’s son LT(N) Christopher Edward Saunders was a Naval Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, an enthusiastic submariner trained as a Combat Systems Engineer. Born on April 7, 1972 in Saint John, NB, Chris was killed during a tragic fire while serving aboard HMCS Chicoutimi. The submarine was underway from Scotland to Canada when the fire broke out on October 6, 2004.
As the National Silver Cross Mother, Mrs. Sullivan will place a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on November 11, 2020. She will do so on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost a son or daughter in action, or over the course of normal duty. From November 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021, Mrs. Sullivan will also perform a range of duties honouring Canada’s Fallen.
The Memorial Cross - more commonly referred to as the Silver Cross - introduced on December 1, 1919, is a symbol of personal loss and sacrifice on behalf of widows and mothers who lose a child on active duty, or whose death is later attributed to such duty.
The Royal Canadian Legion’s Provincial Commands and individual Canadians submit nominations for the National Silver Cross Mother each year. The final recipient is chosen by a Dominion Command selection Committee.
About The Royal Canadian Legion
Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canada’s largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S., Europe and Mexico. With close to 260,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.
Debbie Sullivan grew up in the countryside near Saint John, New Brunswick. The years unfolded to include two energetic children and rewarding work as a crisis counsellor, a truck driver and service in the Canadian Army Reserve.
As a young girl, Debbie was a member of the Westfield United Church and choir. She took part in Canadian Girls in Training (CGIT), which she credits for a great start in life. Her personal foundation was additionally shaped during her time in Sea Cadets.
Graduating from Rothesay Regional High School where she studied business, she went on to pursue legal secretarial studies at Compu College in Saint John. Her son Christopher, was born in 1972 and her daughter Melissa arrived a few years later.
When her children were young, Debbie took on a volunteer support role helping seniors run businesses and pay bills, and network to get the help they needed. Later as a crisis line counsellor and member of a multi-disciplinary task force on crisis intervention, she volunteered with the Rothesay Regional and Saint John Police Departments.
Debbie then served in the Army Reserves from 1990-1994 working on Administration, Logistics, and Recruiting. When she met her husband Stuart Sullivan, he had completed his service as an artilleryman with the 2nd Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery ( 2RCHA) in the regular forces. The two married in 1994. Debbie went on to take a course in driving semi-trucks, one of her husband’s interests. As newlyweds, it kept them together, and the pair drove all over Canada and the United States as a team.
Debbie’s children Chris and Melissa were active, busy kids, and while Chris eventually went on to military college, Melissa chose a role in administration and now works for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Alberta. Chris served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Combat Systems Engineer, and was working aboard HMCS Chicoutimi when he died.
For Debbie, Chris’ loss left deep scars. “Even though it has been sixteen years since I lost Chris, the pain of his absence is felt every day,” she says. “I cope with the help of my husband and family members
as well as a grief support group I belong to.”
While in Halifax to receive the Silver Cross, Debbie met with many of her son’s former mates and peers who performed a special ceremony to make her an honourary submariner – a true thrill for her. “My husband and I know that with young men and women like them, we are in good shape for the future,” she says.
In her role as National Silver Cross Mother, Debbie says she will do her utmost to support all other Silver Cross Mothers and families, and to let them know they are not alone. Along with her recent new passion for gardening, Debbie enjoys spending time dancing, painting and fishing.