It was a tragic night Dr. Guy Hebert and those with him say they will never forget. The night did not end how they had hoped; but it showed their courage and gave them “hero-status” in the City of Ottawa.
For that, Tamara Clavet, Coralie Burt, Frank Byrnes and Hebert received the Queen’s Jubilee medal at a special ceremony on Monday.
All four of them valiantly lead the effort to try and save a dying Ottawa police officer on December 29, 2009. Const. Eric Czapnik did not survive his stab wounds; his wife Anna says she knows the doctor and his team of nurses tried their best.
“I have comfort, I’ve always had comfort that they did their best and I’m really glad that they’re being honoured,” said Czapnik’s widow.
“That day will never go out of our minds,” said Clavet. “It’s something we’ll carry with us the rest of our lives.”
“The police put themselves out every day and that night, one of them touched us very closely,” said Byrnes.
Only 60,000 Jubilee medals are awarded to Canada’s population of 34 million. Now the most recent recipients are four people who work in the nation’s capital.
For many, that frigid winter night three years ago will be remembered as one where both heroism and tragedy came together in full measure.
