Mrs. Candy Greff of Lacombe, Alberta – Photo from the Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion has announced the 2022 Silver Cross Mother.
Mrs. Candy Greff of Lacombe, Alberta has been chosen to represent the mothers of Canada at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa. During her tenure, which began on November 1st, the National Silver Cross Mother fulfills other official functions.
Greff’s son, Master Corporal Byron Greff, was a member of the Canadian Army as a member of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) based in Edmonton. On October 29, 2011, while on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, Greff was killed while riding inside an armoured NATO bus when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled car which impacted the bus. He was the first Canadian soldier to die during that particular training mission, and the last Canadian soldier to lose his life in Afghanistan. Byron left behind a wife and two children.
As National Silver Cross Mother, Candy hopes that she can inspire people, including children, to remember – and to never forget the losses in Afghanistan, a country so far away.
“I hope that more kids will come to realize the meaning of the ultimate sacrifice.”
Every year, the Legion Provincial Commands and individuals forward nominations for the selection of a National Silver Cross Mother. These nominations are reviewed by a selection committee at Dominion Command and one mother is chosen for the year which begins on November 1st until October 31st of the following year.