Maritime soldiers among those honoured for bravery

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OTTAWA - Facing Taliban militants amid a rain of rockets may have been uncomfortable, but standing in Rideau Hall was downright nerve-racking for some Canadian soldiers who accepted bravery awards yesterday.

The Canadian Press

Honoured for braveryCpl. Dave Gionet of Lameque Island is presented with the Medal of Military Valour by Governor General Michaelle Jean yesterday during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa yesterday.

Standing before Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean in their dress uniforms, under the watchful eye of Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, wasn't the problem.

It was all the praise.

The suggestion he was a hero rattled Sgt. Gerald Killam, who received the Military Medal of Valour for leading his platoon safely out of a Taliban ambush last May.

"I have my heroes and my heroes, they don't come home," said Killam, a native of Cole Harbour, N.S., who had friends among the 81 Canadian soldiers who've given their lives in Afghanistan.

Maj. Dave Quick accepted the country's second-highest decoration for bravery, the Star of Military Valour.

Quick, 34, who was wounded by an improvised explosive device on April 22 last year. Despite his injuries, he rallied his troops and carried the fight to Taliban positions in Zhari district, outside of Kandahar.

Cpl. Dave Gionet, who grew up at Pigeon Hill on Lameque Island received the Medal for Military Valour. Gionet and Pte. Shane Aaron Bradley Dolmovic of Cottlesville, N.L., were honoured for saving the life of a fellow soldier in Nalgham, Afghanistan, last year.

Gionet and Dolmovic pulled Cpl. Matthew Dicks of Newfoundland and Labrador to safety after a blast from an improvised explosive device tipped a Coyote military vehicle.