I received a letter from Bob Tower introducing me to his son, Patrick. I could feel Bob's pride as told me of his son, Sgt. Patrick Tower who is the first Soldier to receive the Star of Military Valour since it's inception in 1993. The medal is one of the highest military decorations for valour in Canada, second only to the Victoria Cross which along with the Medal of Military Valour, were created for the Canadian Forces in 1993.

[Click HERE for a writeup on this website of Sgt. Patrick Towler receiving the Star Of Military Valour]

S gt. Patrick Tower receives the Star Of Military Valour in recognition for his actions in August 2006 in Afghanistan, where he led two of his comrades through enemy fire to help a group of Canadian soldiers who were pinned down and had suffered heavy casualties. The picture to the right shows Patrick Tower, Gen. Rick Hillier, and Bob Tower.

B ob told me that there is nobody serving in the last forty-five years who have seen the action that these young people serving now have experienced. However, Patrick said his courage depended on the soldiers around him, and that he was only one part of a team. "I was just proud of my whole platoon and how they all performed that day. Like I said, that award belongs to all of us." Patrick said.

P atrick, born in Victoria, BC, enrolled in the Canadian Scottish on his 17th birthday. The Scottish is a militia unit in Victoria, British Columbia. While with the Scottish he served a tour in Croatia and was awarded the Governor General's Citation for his participation in the Battle of the Medak Pocket and awarded a citation from the Governor General and the current CDS General Ray Henault. The Commander-in-Chief's Unit Commendation was created in July 2002 by the Governor General to recognize the outstanding service of Canadian Forces in times of conflict under direct enemy fire. 2PPCLI is the second unit commendation to be presented by our Commander-in-Chief, the first being received by the 1R22eR Battle Group for their actions in Sarajevo in 1992.

P atrick served in the Scottish for six years and then joined the Regular Forces in 1996. He served with 3PPCLI in Edmonton and instructed in the Battle School in Wainwright Alberta from 2000 to 2003. He is presently serving with 1PPCLI. Patrick has served three six-month tours in Bosnia and has just returned from a seven month tour in Afghanistan. From the time he was a young boy he loved the Military comic books and everything he did had a Military theme. He still loves the Military. It is his whole life.

P atrick comes from a very military family. His father, Bob, himself was a career service man in the Cold War era. Capt RM (Bob) Tower CD2 ret'd, joined the ROYAL CANADIAN ARMY SERVICE CORP (RCASC) in 1957. Bob was based at Camp Borden, Fort Churchill, and Camp Gagetown. Bob had two UN tours in Egypt, two NATO tours in Germany, CFB Cornwallis, CFB Halifax, CFB Shearwater, and CFB Esquimalt. He was promoted to Cpl. May 1, 1963 to Sgt April 1, 1969 to WO April 1, 1971 and commissioned to the rank of Lt. in Dec 1972. Bob retired with the rank of Capt in 1991, serving for 34 years. Tim Cook, a historian with the Canadian War Museum, described the Cold War in the following way, "Canadian participation in war transitioned from the enormity and brutality of the world wars to the more subtle yet insidious Cold War that raised the nuclear spectre and the end of humankind."

P atrick's grandfather and two great uncles fought in WW2. Below is one of Pat's Great Uncles. He joined the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in 1940 and went to England with them He was wounded on D-Day and came home some months later. Patrick's other Great Uncle Ross Travis, his Grandmother's brother, served with the North Shore regiment from New Brunswick.

WOUNDED IN FRANCE -- Pte. Edward Mack of a Canadian army unit, has been dangerously wounded in France, according to word received by his wife, the former Julia Tower of Amherst, who is now Canadian National Telegraph operator at Debert. He enlisted in Amherst and is a son of Mrs. Thomas Mack and the late Mr. Mack of Bridgewater. He has a brother, Harris, in the R.C.A.F.

P atrick's Grandfather, Percy Tower, joined the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and went to England with them. Percy was transferred to the Artillery and went up through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He came home in 1946. Patrick's Dad, Bob, was a teenager in the Forties when the "Novies" started their Reunions and came in contact with a lot of them. However they talked about the tricks they played on each other and told stories, but just the fun times, none of them ever talked about the War. In later years Bob asked his Dad about the War but he would never talk about it. Patrick also has an uncle that served 25 years in the Forces.

A noted poet, Susan Lucas, wrote a poem about Sgt. Patrick Tower, as follows.