No one ever stayed around Glen Arnold very long without smiling. His gentle, caring nature put people at ease, and his smile and great sense of humour were always readily available. He would pick people up when they were down and make them laugh. He was very social, always a ‘people person.’
It was his caring and compassionate nature that made him truly love being a medic in the Canadian military. He loved helping people. And his humanity, kindness and love shone through with all of his family.
When he was in high school, Glen joined the Irish Regiment. It spurred his interest in the military and intensified his desire to become a soldier.
He excelled in math and sciences, and although he didn’t have a compelling interest in languages, he did learn French and become bilingual.
The outdoors always called to him, and he loved fishing and camping and particularly enjoyed hockey.
He trained as a medical technician at CFB Borden, served in the army for 14 years, during which he was deployed to Bosnia, was a member of DART in Sri Lanka, and had two deployments to Afghanistan. On his second and final tour to Afghanistan, Glen became known as the ‘Unit Doc.’ He also bonded with another of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Pte. David Byers. He called him ‘the kid from next door in Espanola’ in letters to his family.
Glen has been honoured numerous times, some of those honours including a sports field and road named after him, and an annual soccer tournament and trees planted in his honour.
By Susan Blackman Abma
