09/11/2026
Sept 11th and Canadas connection to helping our neighbour and ally.
In the hours, days and weeks Off-duty firefighters and police from departments in places like Ottawa, Brampton, Toronto, Calgary, Windsor, and Vancouver packed their gear and headed south immediately to New York City to help in the recovery operation.
Among them was Trakr and his handler James Symington a police officer who drove 15hrs straight to New York City to help in the recovery operations. After two intense days of search-and-rescue work in toxic and extreme conditions, Trakr collapsed from exhaustion, smoke inhalation, and chemical burns before recovering and returning home. But not before recovering Genelle Guzman McMillan who was trapped deep beneath the concrete for 27hrs. She was the last person recovered alive.
Gander Newfoundland welcomed 34 civilian aircraft and 4 military aircraft and had approximately 6500 stranded travellers in a town with a population of just over 9000 people. The Canadians opened their doors to the travellers, housing them, feeding them and taking care of them until flights were allowed to leave.
The war on terror started once the US used Article 5 calling for all NATO members to come to their aid and help with the war on terror. Canada was one of the first with members of the PPCLI and Canadas most secretive counter terrorist unit JTF2 heading into the Moutian’s of Tora Bora on the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. The decade to follow 40,000 Canadian soldiers would deploy to Afghanistan in Canadas largest combat operation since WW2.
158 Canadians would pay the ultimate price and never come home with 1000’s more injured.
We did it all because our neighbour and ally needed help.
