Cpl Nathan Cirillo and WO Patrice Vance

In October 2014, both Cpl Cirillo and WO Vance were killed in targeted domestic terrorist attacks.

WO Vance was killed in a lone wolf terror hit and run attack in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec on Monday, 20 Oct 2014. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a Combat Engineer in 1985 and transitioned over to the military Fire Fighter trade in 1990, where served on multiple bases and warships.

In July 2012, Vance was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer and was posted to Joint Task Force East HQ at Montreal, QC and then the Joint Personnel Support Unit at the Integrated Personnel Support Centre in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC in Mar 2013.

On October 20, 2014, WO Vance was walking a fellow Canadian Forces member to the Veterans Affairs service centre, when Martin Couture-Rouleau - who had been on police radar for extremist ideology - intentionally struck him with his car. Couture-Rouleau was killed after a police car chase and Vance succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

2 days later, Cpl Nathan Cirillo was attacked and killed in Ottawa at the National War Memorial by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau before entering Centre Block on Parliament Hill and engaging in a shoot out with police and security.

Cirillo was a part-time reservist looking to set himself apart from his peers by picking up extra duties around his local armoury. Being a full-time soldier was something that Cpl Cirillo had been wanting since he was 13 years old.

We are so grateful for the service of both men who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their country. Both men are being honoured as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign’s Living Tribute.