Virginia Hicks from Frankford, Ont., has been named this year’s National Silver Cross Mother by the Royal Canadian Legion.
Hicks served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for close to 29 years, working in supply and logistics, in a military career that took her to the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Italy. After retiring from the regular forces in 2008, she became a full-time reservist and served in that role in 2017.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” she tells Legion.ca, calling it an unexpected honour.
On November 11, Hicks will place a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on behalf of all Canadian mothers and families who have lost a son or daughter in the line of duty. Her presence will have some added significance this year in the wake of the tragedy that struck military personnel at CFB Wainwright in Alberta last month.
Hicks’ daughter, Sapper Mariebeth Short, was herself killed during a training exercise on the Matawa Plains in Petawawa in 2002 when the light armoured vehicle she was travelling in rolled over. A subsequent investigation concluded that a defect in the wheel assembly of the vehicle was to blame for the accident.
“She watched what we did. She saw the experiences that we had, and she wanted to do the same,” said Hicks, while recalling the day military officials showed up at her home to deliver the tragic news.
“I was stunned and asked him to repeat himself. Brian was beside himself with grief and I knew then I had lost my little girl.”
Hicks was presented with the Silver Cross in 2009 following her daughters death, and admits she did not realize it was given to all those who have lost a child in service to Canada, not just those who have died in combat.
“I had more people ask me what it was…they didn’t know what it was for,” she said, adding she hopes to educate others about the honour during her year as Canada’s National Silver Cross Mother.
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