More Profiles in COURAGE

You continue to send us wonderful stories honouring Canada’s war vets; here are more samples of the inspiring tales we received

Always Ready

Lee-Anne Quinn has the distinction of being the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, one of Canada’s most prestigious infantry regiments that forms part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group within Land Force Central Area / Joint Task Force Central.

She is the first female chosen, in the regiment’s 150-year-old existence, and I asked her to tell me about her life in service.

“There is no greater honour than to care for an injured soldier,” Lee-Anne says. “It is a humbling experience as a nurse practitioner as you become their mother, padre, mental-health support and confidante.”

Lee-Anne has been asked by many people why she decided not to go to med school instead, and her response is always the same.

“If I became a physician, then I could never aspire to be Florence Nightingale! My ultimate hero. As nurses in the field, we are the first up and the last to go to bed,” says Quinn. “I have 22 years in the Canadian Forces. Absolutely loved my career and all of the experiences it offered and would not change a thing. I did missions in Somalia, Rwanda, former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and several postings to First Nations and Inuit communities.”

For her work in isolated First Nations and Inuit communities in Northern Ontario, Quinn did in fact win the prestigious Nightingale Award in 2003.

She received the Governor General’s Award (Medal of Military Merit) in 2007 and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2012.