2009 Vimy Award from the Conference of Defence Associations Institute

This year's recipient:

2009 – William Kenneth MacDonald

WARRANT OFFICER WILLIAM KENNETH MacDONALD – 2009 VIMY AWARD RECIPIENT

13 August 2009. Ottawa. The Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDA Institute) is pleased to announce that Warrant Officer William Kenneth MacDonald has been unanimously selected as the recipient of the Vimy Award for 2009.

Warrant Officer MacDonald epitomizes the best of today’s soldier and is a living example of one who puts service before self. The Award will be presented on Friday, 20 November, at a mixed gala dinner in the LeBreton Gallery of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.

Warrant Officer MacDonald joined the Royal Regina Rifles at age 16. He completed Basic Military Training in 1990, and rose to the rank of Master Corporal and served in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Operation CAVALIER in 1994, before transferring to the Regular Force.

A veteran of numerous operational tours, he has served on two tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Kosovo, and recently in Kandahar, where he was employed as a Reconnaissance Section Commander with First Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group (Task Force ORION), and was involved in numerous engagements with insurgents. For his heroism in Afghanistan the Governor General of Canada, in 2008, announced that Warrant Officer MacDonald would receive the Star of Military Valour with the citation that reads: “On August 3, 2006, amidst chaos and under sustained and intense enemy fire in Afghanistan, Sergeant MacDonald selflessly and repeatedly exposed himself to great peril in order to assist his wounded comrades. Despite the risk, he ensured that his men held on until reinforcements arrived and that the platoon’s focus remained on holding the ground that they had fought so hard to secure.”

Promoted to his current rank in 2006, Warrant Officer MacDonald was posted to Land Force Western Area Training Centre, where he has been employed on training duties and Acting Company Sergeant-Major for Basic Company. He has been invited to speak of his experiences in Afghanistan at numerous venues, including a RCMP Detachment Commander’s Seminar, at Reserve Force Armouries, high schools, and police seminars on leadership in combat.

Warrant Officer MacDonald’s personnel file is filled with letters of appreciation from many organizations and grateful parents. He epitomizes the 21st Century Canadian Infantryman. Reliable, knowledgeable, professional, fit and highly articulate, Warrant Officer MacDonald is what every soldier aspires to be.

The CDA Institute is dedicated to increasing public awareness of Canada’s security situation and the vital role that is played by the Canadian Armed Forces in our society. The CDA Institute is the sponsor of the Vimy Award. Since 1991, the Award recognizes one Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.

The Vimy Award Selection Committee was composed of Dr. John Scott Cowan as Chairman, and, as Members the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Général (Ret) Raymond Henault, Dr. George A. Lampropoulos, Monsieur Richard Bertrand, Lieutenant-General (Ret’d) Richard J. Evraire, Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, Major-General (Ret’d) Tom de Faye, and Mr. Dan Donovan.

Please direct any enquiries to Captain (Ret’d) Peter Forsberg or to Colonel (Ret’d) Alain Pellerin, Executive Director, (613) 236-9903 or pao@cda-cdai.ca. Thank you.

Previous recipients:

The CDA Institute is the sponsor of the Vimy Award. Since 1991, the Award recognizes one Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.

The Award is granted at the CDA Institute’s annual Vimy Award Gala Reception and Dinner, held annually in November. The Vimy Dinner also features the awarding of the CDA’s Ross Munro Media Award.

Recipients of the Vimy Award are:

The Right Honourable Joe Clarke (1991); General John de Chastelain (1992); Major-General Lewis MacKenzie (1993); Major-General William Howard (1994); Major-général Roméo Dallaire (1995); Dr. Jack Granatstein (1996); the Right Honourable Brian Dickson (1997); Vice-Admiral Larry Murray (1998); Lieutenant-général Charles H. Belzile (1999); the Honourable Barnett Danson (2000); Air Commodore Leonard Birchall (2001); Colonel the Honourable John Fraser (2002); General Paul Manson (2003); Dr. David Bercuson (2004); Gordon Hamilton Southam (2005); Brigadier-General David Fraser (2006); General Ray Henault (2007); General Rick Hillier (2008); Warrant Officer William Kenneth MacDonald (2009).

2009 Recipient: Warrant Officer William Kenneth MacDonald

2008 Recipient: General (Retired) Rick Hillier

2007 Recipient: General Ray Henault

2006 Recipient: Brigadier-General David Fraser

2005 Recipient: Gordon Hamilton Southam

2004 Recipient: Dr David Bercuson

2003 Recipient: General (Retired) Paul Manson

2002 Recipient: The Honourable John A Fraser

2001 Recipient: Air Commodore Leonard Birchall

2000 Recipient: The Honourable Barnett Danson

1999 Recipient: Lieutenant-General (Retired) Charles H. Belzile