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Major Michelle Knight-Mendes chose her military career with purpose after growing up on her family’s apple farm near Wicklow, Ontario. Mic as she was known to friends, was trilingual, fluent in English, Portuguese and French. She graduated in 2001 with a history degree from the Royal Military College in Kingston and later attained a master’s degree in international affairs from Carleton University. She always strove to do her best and was highly respected for her marvellous intellect, professional knowledge and work ethic.
Here is a letter her family wrote ten years ago regarding a story.
Mic and her older sister Mel grew up in Grafton Ontario with a childhood typical of smaller communities. She was in Brownies and Guides, went to camp through church and started to develop her leadership skills working as a camp counselor. She excelled in school and was consistently on the honour roll. An avid reader from an early age, she typically had a book in every room of the house and would read them all concurrently. Always athletic, she was involved in figure skating for many years, played rugby and baseball as well as spearheading a concerted drive to form her high school’s first girl’s wrestling team. An avid swimmer, she qualified as a lifeguard and was consistently in the family pool. She even combined her two passions for reading and fitness by figuring out how to read a book while swimming laps.
Even as a child, Mic was a very social person who balanced a few very strong friendships while maintaining a wide circle of friends across the community and eventually, around the globe. Certainly in her home town, Mic knew everybody and everybody knew Mic. She always enjoyed children; she worked in a daycare and taught Sunday School during her high school years. As she grew, she took an interest in world events and the plight of others leading to her sense of service and a desire to assist those in need. Her interests led to her being accepted under a Rotary International program where she spent one year in Brazil on a high school youth exchange. In addition to returning speaking Portuguese fluently, this experience highlighted her interest to find a career where she could make a difference in the world which ultimately led to her joining the military. Based on the impact she made while in Brazil, and with the Rotarians who sponsored her, Mic was subsequently selected to represent those who had done exchanges by giving an address to over 2500 Rotarians in California.
Years later, Mic maintained her connection to Rotary through friends who were still in involved in youth exchange and other initiatives such as polio eradication, and planned to join Rotary once she returned to Kingston.
Mic thrived at RMC with its emphasis on broad, balanced development in academics, athletics, leadership and languages. She thoroughly enjoyed the intellectual challenges of her program and many of her professors have told us of their memories of an enthusiastic student who was always seeking to expand her knowledge beyond what the course covered.
Building on the characteristics evident as a child, Mic sought out opportunities to take on greater responsibilities and fulfill leadership roles. She talked to us about her role models and the important lessons she learned about what the military was, what was expected of officers and the demands of a military career. She had the privilege of meeting Gen Romeo Dallaire and was inspired by his call for better educated officers with the desire to serve Canada in valuable missions overseas. These served to strengthen Mic’s commitment to serving in uniform. It was during her time at RMC that we came to realize how important the CF was to Mic and that she was determine to serve for a full career.
While Mic blossomed at RMC expanding her understanding of the world and of herself, the aspects that stood out the most where those that had described Mic from childhood. She strove to excel and could be quite dogged in her determination to complete tasks that needed to be done. She certainly set high standards for herself and epitomized the ideal that one’s reach should exceed one’s grasp but she was equally aware of her limitations. Having had the privilege of staying in touch with so many of Mic’s classmates over the years, we have come to recognize the commitment, perseverance and sense of service that characterizes those who have made the military their career.
Mic emerged from RMC confident, committed and dynamic; characteristics that enabled her to enjoy subsequent success and to weather the occasional set backs that she encountered as all of us do in life. Her excellence in all aspects of the RMC program led to her selection as one of the few Cadets who are approved each year to apply to immediately pursue post-graduate training. Based on her outstanding academic achievements, she earned acceptance to Carleton University’s prestigious Norman Patterson School of International Affairs.
Again, Mic thrived on the intellectual stimulation. She pursued courses that interested her; which would, in fact, subsequently serve her well as an Intelligence Officer and, we believe, were part of why Mic excelled in the branch. She clearly did well in her studies as some of her professors had encouraged her to continue to do a PhD. As with her time at RMC, she also made some great friendships and we were fortunate to have met several of her NPSIA friends over the years.
We are extremely proud of Mic’s successes in her career. Although it took a couple of years, her selection to be an Intelligence Officer was an obvious great fit for Mic as it allowed her to apply her keen intellect and love of learning, her desire to make a difference in the world and her phenomenal social and leadership skills. Not only did she excel on courses, she drew on her graduate education, her colleague’s expertise and her own personal reading to teach at the Intelligence School and, most recently, submit an academic article on the need to better incorporate socio-cultural anthropology into CF thinking and Intelligence analyses. Mic made many contributions to the Branch including working on organizing the 25th anniversary dinner and dance in fall 2007. As part of her extensive preparation for her deployment to Afghanistan she had made contact with a Canadian supported Afghan Women’s Network.
Despite her busy military career and time away from her home in Kingston, Mic was always active with family and community. For several years, she helped organize the Christmas dinner served at the United church downtown. She participated in numerous fund raisers including running ½ marathons for cancer with her Mom. She always stayed in peak condition finding time to work out every day as well as belonging to a Kingston running club (for fun). Constantly thinking of others, she kept in close contact with colleagues and friends who deployed. As some related to us, she managed to get ‘care packages’ to some friends in Afghanistan before their own families did.
What consistently amazed us was the number of lives she touched and all of those who felt a close personal connection with Mic. She was so often the key to bringing friends from all realms together. She always made sure the different communities she was involved in had the opportunity to crossover and learn from one another while gaining incredible friendships at the same time. She made everyone feel important, and made sure that their familial bond or friendship was celebrated just as she celebrated important milestones in her life.
Together with her family and friends, who were truly extended family to her, she celebrated life, her marriage, holidays, birthdays, and her well deserved promotions.
Mic committed to her tour in Afghanistan the way she lived her entire life: enthusiastic, confident and determined. Her deployment combined two of her greatest loves: service to Canada and extending a helping hand to those in need. We hope this letter gives you a more complete understanding of the wonderful person we loved and who we fully supported in her desire to make the world just a little bit better.
Many have commented to us on Mic’s intellect, her warmth, her compassion for others and her constant desire to assist those in need. We are comforted by knowing how many lives she touched, the contributions she made to the CF and the legacy she has left of service to humanity. Our fondest wish would be that her story may inspire others to seek to better understand our complex world and pursue options to represent Canada on the international stage making a difference in the lives of others.
Last year the Grafton Legion worked with Friends of Grafton Sports and Activities to have Major Michelle Knight Mendes name engraved on the cenotaph. On Saturday, July 28, 2018, a week after what would have been Michelle’s 40th birthday, people travelled from Toronto, Ottawa , Trenton and Kingston to the Grafton cenotaph for an engraving ceremony to honour Grafton’s hometown girl. Michelle’s parents unveiled the etching done to the cenotaph prior to the Last Post being played followed by two minutes of silence. A wreath was placed at the cenotaph shortly before the ceremony ended. Chief Warrant Officer (Retired) Peter Manuge met Major Michelle Knight-Mendes in Kingston in the early 2000’s when she was in the artillery service before she became an Intelligence Officer. Manuge traveled from Carleton Place to attend the ceremony in Grafton. In 2006 Major Michelle-Knight Mendes was the Deputy Commander of the All Source Intelligence.
At that time, Knight-Mendes was a Captain and Manuge was a Master Warrant Officer. “She was an outstanding human being. She always had a smile. Had a deep caring for everybody and was very professional.” “A great, great person to have around.” Manuge has no doubt Knight Mendes would have excelled further in her career. “She was that caliber to become a true senior leader in the Canadian Armed Forces.”
Two years ago Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Veterans, Corporal Nick Kerr and Master Corporal (retired) Collin Fitzgerald adopted the entire 344 km of the Highway of Heroes (172 km East and 172 km West) with Kerri Tadeu in Honour of Tadeu’s friend, Major Michelle Knight-Mendes, the 118th soldier that was carried home from the Afghanistan War in April of 2009.
The Highway of Heroes was adopted by the trio- A Soldier, a Veteran and a Civilian in honour of Major Michelle Knight-Mendes as an initiative to bring the Veteran Community together honouring All That Gave Some and Some That Gave All to combat the epidemic of suicide among Military, Veterans and First Responders. The adoption is rooted 95% in Mental Health and 5% in garbage collection.
In the close-knit Veteran Community many affectionately call Kerri Tadeu, Saint Kerri after a retired Lieutenant Colonel wrote a letter describing how “Saint Kerri” decided to make it a “personal mission, in both her capacity as a professional (Registered Psychiatric Nurse) and as a rare human being, to help Fitz (Fitzgerald) recover from his wounds, and she succeeded where others failed.”
That letter was written regarding Master Corporal (retired) Collin Fitzgerald’s war at home on Canadian soil. Fitzgerald completed two peacekeeping tours of duty in Bosnia and one tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Medal of Military Valour for his heroism in jumping into a burning military vehicle to drive it off the road to clear the way for his comrades to escape an ambush. Fitzgerald decided that the lives of his fellow soldiers were more important than his life and so took action in the face of concentrated enemy fire in order to save those lives.
Fitzgerald had a volatile personal life since leaving the military in 2012 including an attempted suicide by cop in 2013 after suffering in silence from the crippling effects of Severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tadeu met Fitzgerald in 2014 during a time when Fitzgerald was facing three separate sets of charges from alleged incidents in 2012 and 2014. Tadeu having received an education in 2009 about the cost of war she made a commitment to learn more about the epidemic of suicide among Military members and Veterans and decided to attend a court proceeding to take on the responsibility of becoming Fitzgerald’s surety (a community jailer) in an effort to help him, to help himself recovery from his Operational Stress Injuries. Fitzgerald did not have access to his daughter for 16 months as a result of his charges.
Tadeu was motivated to reunite Fitzgerald with his little girl after determining that his little girl was having a childhood that she was most likely going to have to recovery from as an adult given the complexities of the series of unfortunate events that had transpired. Tadeu does not mince words and she advocated for close to two years for the former soldier who maintained his innocence in the face of repeated plea deals by prosecutors. With Tadeu as a Battle Buddy during his war at home, Fitzgerald refused each attempt by the Crown’s offer for a plea deal and accused the Crown of turning a blind eye to information that exonerated him. Court records stated prosecutors discovered that the former soldier’s whereabouts did not match the OPP’s allegations and witness statements. Despite the holes in the case, the Crown stuck with charges until 2016 when all charges were withdrawn. MPP Randy Hillier once stated that a lot of people in Fitzgerald’s position take a deal because they don’t have the stomach or the pocketbook for an extended court fight. Does Randy Hillier’s statement make you wonder if the Justice System should be spelt “The Just Us” System? To learn more visit this story visit http://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/mcpl-retd-collin-fitzgerald-mmvcd/
Over the last two years, The Highway of Heroes Adoption volunteers have picked up over 1000 bags of garbage and multiple truckloads of large debris. Donated $750 to MADD Canada from returning the empty alcohol containers they collect during the Spring and Fall Cleans to bring awareness that people are actively drinking and driving on North America’s busiest Highway.
Under the Highway of Heroes Adoption, Cobourg Resident, Lorna Dickson, known as the Highway of Heroes Earth Angel collected and donated $750 to Project Trauma Support – an organization dedicated to Military and First Responders addressing Moral Injury and Operational Stress Injury.
Under the Highway of Heroes Adoption Kerr, Fitzgerald and Tadeu organized monthly Mental Health First Aid Courses which resulted in 156 individuals being certified in Mental Health First Aid thanks to Broadmind’s Sherry Lachine for teaching the courses and Veterans Affairs Canada for covering the cost of the courses for the Veteran Community.
The 2017 & 2018 Spring and Fall Cleans were commemorated by visiting elderly Veterans in retirement homes in Ontario and Quebec to pay respect to those Veterans and to say thank you to them for their service to their Country.
Scheduled for this year is a Highway of Heroes Adoption Hockey Game made up of Military, Veterans and First Responders playing against the Toronto Maple Leaf Alumni on Nov 2 2019 at the Leon’s Center with a focus on Mental Health for the Veteran Community. Last year at Our Nations Heroes Hockey Game in Kingston Corporal Nick Kerr flew in from Edmonton where he is posted to unveil the “Highway of Heroes Adoption Four One Hundred & Fifty-Eight in Honour of Major Michelle Knight Mendes” mobile memorial with Fitzgerald and Tadeu.
The Highway of Heroes memorial honors the service and sacrifice of All Who Gave Some and Some That Gave All with a focus to educate Canadians about the service and sacrifices of our military members. Last year during Remembrance Week the memorial visited a number of schools in Ontario and one in Quebec to educate our youth about the importance of Remembering.
The Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and the Highway of Heroes Memorial
The PPCLI is the only regiment on the Highway of Heroes memorial secondary to their history in the Afghanistan War, 2002-2014. The Patricia’s were the first to arrive in Afghanistan. The Patricia’s were the last to leave Afghanistan- they lowered the flag. The first soldiers to fall and the last soldier to fall were Patricia’s – 44 out of the158 Fallen Soldiers from the Afghanistan War are Patricia’s.
The Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Veterans and the Highway of Heroes Adoption
Corporal Nick Kerr and Master Corporal (retired) Collin Fitzgerald adopted the Highway of Heroes and continue to contribute to the ongoing Highway of Heroes Adoption initiatives that bring the Veteran Community together. Warrant Officer (retired) Bruce Frampton, CannaConnect’s National Veteran Ambassador along with Sunni Boisvert support the volunteers who clean the Highway of Heroes through CannaConnect and MedReleaf sponsoring the 2018 and 2019 Spring and Fall Cleans with gas cards to cover their gas expense. When the Highway of Heroes Memorial is not travelling you can view the memorial at The Iron King Gym on Fortune Cresent in Kingston which is owned and operated by Corporal (retired) Brittany Laramie and Master Corporal (retired) Arthur Laramie. For the 2019 Spring Clean of the Highway of Heroes Corporal (retired) Brittany Laramie and Master Corporal (retired) Arthur Laramie have taken a lead role to create multiple teams of volunteers from the Iron King Gym to clean the Highway of Heroes over a number of days. This is in keeping with The Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry Association organizing a team of veteran volunteers to journey up and down the Highway of Heroes during past Spring and Fall Cleans.
General Rick Hillier made the following statement in his official retirement speech in 2008 as the leader of Canada’s military, “I leave as Chief of Defence staff awed by you, awed by all our troops, who in my view are absolute national treasures, Canada’s sons and daughters, and heroes to all”. Honour, integrity, respect, discipline and devotion to duty are written all over the men and women in the Veteran Community that are indeed National Treasures, Canada’s sons and daughters and heroes to all.
If you are interested in participating in the 2019 Spring Clean of the Highway of Heroes contact Kerri Tadeu at
613-539-1312 or email svc@cogeco.ca.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
