CORPORAL KYLE SCOTT (RETRAITÉ) BÉNÉFICIAIRE DE LA MÉDAILLE DU SOUVERAIN POUR LES BÉNÉVOLES

CORPORAL KYLE SCOTT (RETRAITÉ) BÉNÉFICIAIRE DE LA MÉDAILLE DU SOUVERAIN POUR LES BÉNÉVOLES

Corporal Kyle Scott (Retired) is a Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces as a Combat Engineer. He saw active duty during 2 tours of Afghanistan in 2004 and 2006, after which he received a Mention in Dispatches before receiving his military discharge in 2008.

Following Kyle’s return home from active duty, he felt driven to stay involved with the Canadian military community of Veterans, and became a member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Whitecourt, AB. There he has held positions from President to 1st Vice President, Sergeant at arms, and is now Service Officer as well as volunteering on the national committee with Dominion Command, Royal Canadian Legion.

Kyle’s interest in Veteran’s graves began with an emotional trip to visit the gravesite of a former Afghan war Veteran and high school friend. Kyle gradually began to take a wider interest in visiting and maintaining Veteran's graves as a way of honouring their sacrifice and also helping to frame and put into perspective his own experience as a Veteran. In his frequent travels around the province and beyond, Kyle found himself visiting graveyards, looking for Veterans' markers in need of repair and making note of those that were missing markers. This volunteer work naturally led him to join the Last Post Fund Alberta Branch in the fall of 2018 where he has continued to devote time and effort to the Unmarked Grave Program.

Kyle is the first to know that modern-day Veterans (MDV's) are a difficult population to reach. First, because they are smaller in numbers and more sparsely spread throughout the country than the previous generations of Veterans who saw service in the World Wars and in the Korean War. Second, because it seems common to Veterans of all generations to be reluctant to look for help for themselves as they share a strong commitment to serving others first, often neglecting or ignoring their own need for assistance.

Kyle describes his volunteer work assisting Veterans and helping to honour and commemorate deceased Veterans as a form of therapy that has helped him come to terms with his own experience in Afghanistan and his reluctance to ask for help when he needed it.

Learning others’ stories, helping to commemorate them by marking their graves or by replacing damaged markers is Kyle’s way of honouring those who may not have achieved recognition during their lifetime. Of his volunteer work in the Unmarked Grave Program, Kyle says, "For me, it’s a chance to bring them out of obscurity, to recognize their sacrifice and share their stories, and to honour in death those whom we may not have had a chance to honour during their lifetime."

The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers is awarded by the Governor’s General’s Office in recognition of the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields. As an official Canadian honour, it also pays tribute to the dedication and exemplary commitment of volunteers. The Last Post Fund warmly congratulates Cpl Kyle Scott (Ret’d) for this well-deserved award.