Article content

They could be all around you. They may live on your street or in your neighbourhood. There are two on our street and two more who were once part of the group. You may run into them in the grocery store or the gym. Who are these strange creatures?

They are military spouses, of either gender. They are the real heroines and heroes behind so many of our military personnel and veterans. In this period of remembrance, they, too, must be remembered and honoured.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Forbes: Military spouses are the real heroes Back to video

We saw, of course, the Silver Cross Mother at this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, as we do every year, representing mothers who have lost children to war. But we never see a Silver Cross Wife. Most people have no idea what it is like to lose a spouse in their young years, often with a family to raise and having to explain why mom or dad is not coming home.

But the real story is with the day-by-day and year-by-year experiences of these spouses who see a service member through an entire military career. They start the life with optimism and enthusiasm. Unlike the military member, there is no basic training for the spouses in their new life. They are not told how to withstand the long absences. They are not told how to react when they hear of death or disaster; how to tell the children why a parent can’t be there for their school graduation; how to understand what often sound like inane or stupid orders from their spouse’s senior officer; how to give birth without their spouse present; how to support other military spouses when they need help; how to uproot their homes every couple of years because their spouse has just received a new posting. And they don’t tell you that you will have to do this year after year for as long as your spouse chooses to stay in a military career.