Remembering Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent

This year marked six years since Corporal (Cpl) Nathan Cirillo was gunned down while guarding the Canadian National War Memorial, and Warrant Officer (WO) Vincent life was taken just days before Cpl Cirillo after being struck in a hit and run targeted incident.

Canadians remembered the Canadian Armed Forces personnel this week.

“This year marks 6 years since two Canadian heroes were murdered. We will not forget Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo as we continue to fight terrorism at home and around the world,” tweeted Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Corporal Nathan Cirillo lost his life at the age of 24 on October 22, 2014. From Hamilton, Ontario, he was a Canadian Army reserve soldier serving with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s), Hamilton, Ontario. He died after he was shot by 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the perpetrator of the 2014 shootings on Parliament Hill, which put downtown Ottawa in lockdown.

The 2014 Saint Jean sur Richelieu ramming attack was a terror car-ramming in Quebec on October 20, 2014. Two Canadian Forces members were hit by a lone wolf Martin Couture-Rouleau. Warrant officer Patrice Vincent died from injuries, while another soldier was injured but survived.

Martin Rouleau took WO Vincent’s life, as he was deliberately struck down because he was wearing his uniform. RCAF Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was a member of the Joint Personnel Support Unit, Integrated Personnel Support Centre St-Jean.

In 2014, one of Air Task Force Iraq locations was named Camp Vincent, in honour of Royal Canadian Air Force WO Vincent. Likewise, the operations base of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command in Iraq is now called Patrol Base Cirillo, in honour of Cpl Cirillo.

On October 22, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “Today, we’re keeping the loved ones of Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in our thoughts. We will never forget the sacrifices these brave men made, or the courage of those who came forward six years ago to keep us safe.”

In a statement made by Prime Minister Stephan Harper in 2015, he expressed, “Let us pause on this date to remember Corporal Nathan Cirillo, who fell while standing guard at the National War Memorial as well as those injured on Parliament Hill.

Let us also remember the deadly assault on Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who was targeted simply for wearing his uniform two days earlier in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Canadians continue to honour and remember these proud members of our Canadian Armed Forces.

“On this day, let us also pay tribute to all the security forces, medical personnel, and brave citizens who risked their safety to stop the attackers and help those injured.”