Not just a soldier
A statement by the Goddard family
Our daughter, Captain Nichola Goddard, has been portrayed in the media as a strong leader, an officer who cared for her soldiers, and one who believed in the importance of her work and of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. She was all those things, but she was also so much more.
Nichola was an avid outdoors-woman. She was an accomplished cross-country skier, and when she lived in those provinces she was a member of both the Alberta and Nova Scotia junior women Nordic ski teams. She loved camping and hiking, especially in the winter, perhaps because of her years spent living in northern Saskatchewan and on Baffin Island. She loved animals, and had two dogs and two cats she had brought from the animal shelter. She dreamed of owning a boarding kennel when she left the Army.
Nichola had a huge smile, and an even bigger heart. She was a volunteer scout leader and a faithful member of the Anglican church. She was always a caring person. Once, during a ski race, a competitor became hypothermic and collapsed by the side of the track. Nichola stopped and helped him down to the finish, losing any chance of winning the race herself. After that, her friends all called her ‘care bear’. At Shilo, she agreed to shave her head as part of a Cancer Fundraiser, and her men gleefully auctioned off the right to wield the razor. She raised a lot of money.
Nichola was born in Madang, Papua New Guinea, where her parents were teaching. She grew up around the world, attending seven schools before graduating from high school. She often joked that one reason she joined the Army was for the structure!
Nichola spent her childhood growing up with her two sisters, Victoria and Kate, in places such as Black Lake, a native reserve in northern Saskatchewan where she won a prize for being the best Dene speaker in Kindergarten. The family then moved to Dundurn, just outside of Saskatchewan, where she learned how to ride a bike and skip rope, something she hadn’t had an opportunity to do on the reserve. Tim and Sally spent hours in the backyard turning the rope so she could practice. In Baffin Island, Nichola and her two sisters took a skidoo ride with their dad onto the ice to finally see the sun again. It was February, minus 22, and Nichola took off her snowsuit and danced in the sun.
Nichola was the eldest of the three girls, and leaves to grieve her parents, her sisters, her husband, Jason, and so many more.
In one of her regular letters home from Afghanistan, Nichola observed that the work of her father, an associate dean at the University of Calgary, and his colleagues in the field of post-conflict educational development was only possible because of people like her and her men. “I do what I do so you can do what you do,†she said.
The family spent Christmas together and spent the holidays in Wales with Nichola’s grandmother and many members of her family. She then spent time in Sault Ste. Marie with her maternal grandparents. Before she was deployed to Afghanistan, she gathered in Calgary with her husband, parents and sisters for a weekend of family time. The one stipulation she gave before agreeing to the family weekend was that it not be a sad weekend. It wasn’t.
We spoke with Nichola on Monday night. She called saying she wouldn’t be able to talk to Tim on his birthday, which was Wednesday. She was anxious to get out of the Kandahar base, as she was far happier in the hills, and was keen to get on with the job. She was never a paper pusher, she wanted to be a combat officer. She was happier outside the wire with her men.
Nichola lived her life fully. She died too young, but she died doing something she believed was important, something she was good at, something she loved doing, and surrounded by people she enjoyed and respected. We shall all miss her dearly.
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The words of a dead soldier’s grieving father have moved Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take another look at one of his controversial new media policies. Link here.
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Update: Saturday May 27 – Families of soldiers killed overseas will decide whether the country can watch their loved ones return home, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday, reversing his government’s policy hours after a grieving father said his daughter died to defend freedoms not restrict them. Link here.
12 comments ↓
Thanks to MP Turner for posting this… and most importantly thanks to the late Capt. Nichola Goddard for giving her life for our freedom.
To this Yank: No matter the nation of orgin, any soldier whom trades their life so we have enduring freedom (small caps on purpose) to enjoy blogs and public access TV (my state’s is streaming into my head as I write this thank you note) is a hero.
There is no possible words which I, nor anyone else here could say which would adequately display the amount of gratitude I have for this young lady, and all soldiers who put themselves in harm’s way for this country. Whether we agree with the validity of the mission or not, and about it I have few reservations, everyone must agree that these people ought to be given respect and admiration of the country. A national war cemetary is a great idea. But why did it take so long? If it was a simple real estate issue they could have used parliment hill. No offence Garth, but those who have served our country in combat are more deserving of the best view in town in death than you and your fellow MP’s are in life.
Libertarian… the national war cemetary has been around for a long time, since 1873… http://www.forces.gc.ca/hr/nmc-cmn/engraph/about_e.asp
No offence Garth, but those who have served our country in combat are more deserving of the best view in town in death than you and your fellow MP’s are in life.
Wow… how could a person NOT take offence to that. Glad thet you’re such an awesome presense that you get to judge the value of one person over another. Just another example of the self-righteousness of the left….
Looks like the PM is going to have to have his tail between his legs on this one. I’m thinking it’s not going to be the last time. Good on you Mr. Goddard. You spoke for the majority of Canadians on this.
There are places to debate politics and the military. The internet is full of them. This website has a few.
This is not one of them. Here, we offer our respect and gratitude to one of our fallen soldiers.
Peace be with you, Captain Nicola Goddard. I offer my respects to her family, friends and fellow soldiers.
Stan, this is not the thread for partisan snips.
To hear all those wonderful stories, especially those of her youth – thank you Mr. Turner for posting this! She was a selfless individual who believed in giving back to her friends & family, her communities, and the ultimate sacrifice was made for her (our) country. We could all learn a lesson from her and try to remember that the world doesn’t revolve around us as individuals. My heartfelt thanks and prayers to Nicola Goddard.
Charley, no disrespect intended here but I think Stan was simply responding to the last paragraph in Garth’s original post. The PM opened this can of worms and you know what cans are like, darn hard to close.
And my heartfelt thanks and prayers are with the Goddard family as well.
Thank you again, MP Turner, for adding Capt. Goddard’s father statement.
I am like Prime Minister Harper: Family consent, then media coverage.
And thank you again to those who serve, so we can blog – and comment on blogs. My own nation’s Memorial Day should include something for your Capt. Goddard. Nationality shouldn’t matter in the War on Terror – a war started with an attack on all of us on 11 September 2001 by the Taliban’s special forces: al Qaeda.
“… how could a person NOT take offence to that. Glad thet(sic) you’re such an awesome presense(sic) that you get to judge the value of one person over another. Just another example of the self-righteousness of the left….” K2 you are an idiot. I am not in any way whatsoever ‘on the left’ I take it you do not know what a libertarian is.
Did you even read what I said? It has nothing to do with valuing one life more than another but is a simple statement of fact, that is that our dead soldiers deserve the absolute best, whereas politicians do not.
I will simply leave you with one last bit of advice. Re: the term self-righteous, make sure you know what it means before using it, using words in the wrong context makes you look particularly foolish.
Self-righteous: Sure of the moral superiority of your own beliefs and actions. See doesn’t make any sense where you’ve decided to use it
K2:
You can’t possibly be more right wing than a Libertarian. If Atilla the Hun was still alive he would be a Libertarian.
You could look it up, http://www.libertarian.ca/
My son Jason was on the same tour as Nichola. When I heard the news about her death, I emailed my son and asked, “Is it just me, or is the fact that she is a woman that makes the news even harder to bear?” His instant response was, “No Mom, it’s the same. She was a soldier, and a good one. Every loss is equally hard to take.”
He spoke at the Bragg Creek Centre on November 11th where the theme was “Women in War”. He spoke about Nichola and repeated our conversation to the crowd of 600 or so. He then read aloud the names of each soldier that was killed to date in Afghanistan. We all remebered Nichola as one of many soldiers that have given their lives to protect our freedoms.
I think the phrase is “Stand easy” Nichola. You will not be forgotten.