Lieutenant Justin Boyes, Corpora David Braun, Corporal Brendan Downey, Master Corporal Joshua Roberts, Corporal Dustin Wasden….these are just a few of the names of the soldiers who died in Afghanistan- the ones that come quickly to my mind as I covered their deaths, sometimes I interviewed families. A dozen soldiers with Saskatchewan ties died in that conflict. And it’s a baker’s dozen if you include Captain Nichola Goddard the first female soldier to be killed in combat – she spent a large chunk of her formative years growing up in northern Saskatchewan. There are many Saskatchewan’s residents who gave the ultimate sacrifice in various conflicts around the globe. But many lived long fruitful lives after the war as well. How many know of David Greyeyes-Steel, Plains Cree farmer, multi-sport athlete, soldier, war hero, First Nation chief, federal public servant from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation who died in 1996 at age 82?  And his sister, Mary, was the first Indigenous woman to join the Canadian Forces when she enrolled in the Canadian Army Women’s Corps. One very well-known soldier, of course is Major David Currie from what was then the town of Sutherland, just east of Saskatoon, who was awarded the Victoria Cross. He with small Canadian force – some say numbered around 175 – captured and held a village in France block the escape route of large German forces cut off in the Falaise pocket. His force had inflicted 800 casualties on the Germans and took 2,100 prisoners. Major Currie passed at age 74 in 1986. We have an excellent resource in Saskatoon – the Saskatoon Military Museum at the Nutana Legion which strives to capture the stories – the people – behind the names and is well worth a visit.