‘…I’m proud of where I am because of the military service I did,’ says Anishinaabe Canadian Forces veteran

By Rick Garrick

PAYS PLAT — Pays Plat Councillor Raymond Goodchild, a veteran of Canada’s United Nations peacekeeping mission to Cyprus, usually marches every year in the Remembrance Day services in the nearby community of Schreiber.

“I’m the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Royal Canadian Legion in Schreiber,” says Goodchild, who served for five years with the Canadian Forces from 1979-1983. “I march for all the First Nations people — I put a wreath down for Pays Plat First Nation and put a wreath down for all the First Nation members that I know that came from Pays Plat and around this area.”

In addition to serving in Cyprus, Goodchild also served in Germany, Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick before leaving the Canadian Forces with a rank of corporal. He was recognized with three medals during his tour of duty: a United Nations Force in Cyprus Medal, a Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, and an Aboriginal Veteran’s medal.

“I travelled all over — I can say I swam in three different oceans in my life,” Goodchild says. “The best part I used to like was flying in helicopters.”

Goodchild says he usually tells youth who are interested in pursuing a career in the Canadian Forces is that it is “an adventure that you will never forget.”

“Even today I still dream about my [Canadian Forces] brothers — I miss them,” Goodchild says. “Other veterans come up to me and we talk and we share our stories about where we’ve been, what we did. It takes a while to disclose or talk about your vulnerability as a veteran.”

Goodchild says his tour of duty with the Canadian Forces saved his life.

“It’s a good life — it’s the best life I had,” Goodchild says. “I could have been somewhere else but today I’m proud where I am because of the military service I did.”

Goodchild says he joined the Canadian Forces after his sister, who had also been in the Canadian Forces, encouraged him to apply.

“I went to New Brunswick for 16 weeks [and] trained on discipline, polishing your boots — your boots were shiny as glass,” Goodchild says. “Your kit was all neat. You did your 16 weeks of learning drill, learning about weapons, learning about different kinds of formations.”

Goodchild says they also used to go for physical training runs beginning at 4 a.m.

“You would be singing songs while you run,” Goodchild says. “You have a platoon of maybe about 20 of us. I have pictures at home of the guys I went through [training] with.”

Goodchild says the members of the platoon were like family.

“They help you, they assist you,” Goodchild says. “They pull you together if you are falling behind on certain things, they motivate you. It was like a band of your brothers.”

Goodchild says he was about 290 pounds when he joined the Canadian Forces and about 145 pounds when he left.

“We did all the marching, left turn, right turn, stand at ease, stand at attention, double time,” Goodchild says. “Double time is when you maybe have a pack on you about 80 pounds and you run double time for maybe 10 miles non-stop.”

Goodchild studied social work after leaving the Canadian Forces.

“It changed my whole life around,” Goodchild says, noting he was “hard as a rock” in the Canadian Forces. “Now I had to be sensitive, I had to be reliable and responsible to every other people in this world. I had to be vulnerable.”

Goodchild is a family support worker in Pays Plat.