"Taumy St-Hilaire's the act of bravery earned him the Star of Military Valour, the second highest Canadian honour, for exceptional courage in the face of the enemy."

Photo courtesy of Taumy St-Hilaire

nationalpost.com

"As part of the International Security Assistance Force mandated by the United Nations and run by NATO, Canadians had been working for five years to establish, protect and support a robust Afghan-led security system over Panjwaii and other southwestern districts, far from the capital Kabul in the northeast.

Pte. St-Hilaire got up onto a roof, with a boost by standing on the shoulders of an Afghan soldier. He started shooting back. On the occasion of receiving his Star of Military Valour in 2012, he spoke to Maclean’s magazine: “I was looking around, and I see this father and his kid pinned down in a ditch about 15 m in front of me. He was an older guy, with a beard. I’m not even sure if they saw me. I’m not sure what I was thinking. It might have been, ‘They’re in s–t.’ I screamed that there were civilians, and my battalion gave me cover fire and I jumped off the roof to go get them. I took the kid by the arm and started leading him away. He followed me, I guess out of instinct. His dad was behind. He understood that it was now or never. I came back out onto the road. I left them with the K-9 unit that was behind the fight, where they were safe, and I went back to my position.”