A daughter's love and respect for military service will lead to a very special trip.
Gull Lake's Brooklyn Stanford and her Canadian military veteran father Steve are headed to the 2025 National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa.
Their trip is the result of Brooklyn's essay winning The Legion National Foundation National Youth Remembrance Senior Essay - Literary Contest.
"My dad is like my actual hero," Stanford said. "He was the first person I told. I ran to him when I got the mail and he's been on bed rest because of his knee surgery. So, I ran to him with the envelope and was like, guess what? Then he read it, and he was the happiest he could be. It was just really nice and then we get to go to Ottawa together. I really love that I can give that opportunity to him too."
It will be a special trip for father and daughter to share.
"I spent eight years in the military," Steve Stanford said. "I had done the Member State services all over Manitoba, but I never, ever got to go to the National Service. For her and I to be able to go and do that together. She's going to get to see the biggest service in Canada and what what's behind it all... the Governor General will be there. To be at the National Monument is it's just something we're looking forward to."
The contests include posters, literary works, and video entries in conjunction with schools across the country. It's something Brooklyn has participated in for years.
"We've had to do them for grades most of the time until we got a bit older," Brooklyn said. "Once you got the choice, I wanted to keep writing them because I like to share with my dad too what I wrote. Sometimes you can get that opportunity to speak at your school too, and it was just really cool to be able to say something that was important."
The contests have been part of Brooklyn's process for learning about what her father and other veterans went through during their service.
"When I was a baby, my dad went overseas to Afghanistan to fight for our country," she noted. "I didn't fully understand the concept until I got older and then I started to write these essays and poems because I found I could really kind of connect with what my dad thought. It's about honoring veterans, so it's kind of about how they experience PTSD and sometimes people don't realize their inner struggles."
Brooklyn spent the first five years of her life on a military base before the family moved to Gull Lake. Her essay is called Honour of His Duties.
"It reflects on the struggles veterans face after serving, especially with PTSD," Stanford said. "I was inspired by my father's experience after he went to Afghanistan, and I grew up on a military base. I was surrounded by soldiers who fought very hard for our country. I already knew they were superheroes when I was younger, but I didn't really fully understand the true sacrifices they made and what it takes.
"People mostly just focus on the physical injuries far more that overlook the mental scars. PTSD affects countless veterans, and it changes their life long after they return home. Many veterans struggle in silence because of PTSD, so I wanted people to recognize that supporting veterans goes beyond thanking them for their service. It also means ensuring they have access to mental health resources and a strong community."
Her writing and support of veterans means the world to her father.
"I'm incredibly proud of what she had done," Steve Stanford said. "When she wrote that essay, she gave it to me to read and it was quite emotional to be honest with you. Not just in regards to me, but just her understanding of what Remembrance Day means. When she got first place in this in this competition, I was extremely proud but not surprised."
Brooklyn wrote the essay when she was attending Gull Lake School. She is now an online student in grade 12 and planning to attend Mount Royal University in Calgary next year.
That first year away will include a break for her trip to Ottawa and a chance to lay wreath at the National War Memorial on November 11th.
"It's honestly surreal and I'm just very grateful for it," Brooklyn said. "I know a lot of people submit these essays or poems and they try really hard. I don't think I can really fully register it until I'm actually there. It's going to be a really exciting and a reflecting moment. I'm just very excited."
Starting this fall the Canada War Museum in Ottawa will display Brooklyn's essay in Ottawa for one year.
Stanford also received a cash prize of $1000 and an award plaque to recognize her achievement. Gull Lake school will also receive a plaque for supporting the National Youth Remembrance Contests and for Brooklyn's achievement.
