George and Betty Falt were up early on Remembrance Day. They had the TV on Monday (Nov. 11) at 7:30 a.m. and were not disappointed when the first glimpse of their grandson, Cpl. Tyler Falt, appeared on the screen.
The image of Cpl. Falt, an eight-year veteran of the Canadian Forces who was wounded in Afghanistan, appeared a number of times during the telecast. Only four days earlier, Tyler Falt who lived in Squamish through Grade 5 at Mamquam Elementary School learned that he was one of six Forces members to have been chosen to be part of the sentry program during commemorations at the National War Memorial in the nation's capital.
Both his father, Larry, and grandparents, Squamish residents Betty and George, said they were overcome by pride at seeing Cpl. Falt, 29, stationed on one corner of the war memorial for the duration of the ceremony.
It's quite an honour, Larry Falt, who now lives in Vernon, said of Tyler's selection.
We're proud as punch. Can't say enough, Betty Falt said.
The family moved to Kelowna after Tyler's Grade 5 year. Tyler eventually graduated from Kelowna's Mount Boucherie Secondary School in 2002 and joined the military in 2006.
It's a great honour to be chosen to be a sentry, Cpl. Falt, a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) based in Edmonton, told the Kelowna Daily Courier.
The six people chosen to stand sentry at the ceremony represent the different branches of the military. The selections from among the 70,000 members of the Canadian Forces are based on their service records, deployments, community involvement and general deportment.
The selection of these members for the Remembrance Day Sentry Program is one way to recognize them for their dedication, Rob Nicholson, Minister of National Defence, said in a statement.
Falt comes from a long line of Canadian service members that includes the late William Bloxham, his other grandfather who was head of the Squamish RCMP detachment for many years. George Falt served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War and joined the navy afterward.
His grandmother, Mary, also now deceased, and mother Marla Bloxham also lived in Squamish for many years, Larry Falt wrote in an email. Marla Bloxham now lives in Kelowna.
Tyler Falt was serving with his unit in Afghanistan on Dec. 23, 2009, when the vehicle he was driving was hit by a roadside bomb. During the ensuing rescue operation, the vehicle in which he was riding was hit by a similar bomb, the Courier reported.
He was awarded the Sacrifice Medal and remains on active duty as PPCLI battalion information management officer despite the fact that he has diminished vision and uses a hearing aid as a result of his injuries.
Interviewed before Remembrance Day, Tyler Falt told the Courier that he knew 16 of the 158 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
I'll be thinking of them each and every one of them, he said.
