Soldier returning for Nov. 11 ceremony

There will be a special guest at Castlegar’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at Kinsmen Park this Nov. 11.

Warrant Officer, Jim Vigue, a longtime Castlegar resident, will be in Castlegar to help his mother, Shirley Vigue, lay the ceremonial wreath at the cenotaph.

Vigue, 54, knows about the ultimate sacrifice. Although he never gave his life, he did serve 34 years in the infantry which included five tours in Bosnia and one in Afghanistan.

He saw death firsthand.

“On the last tour to Afghanistan, we lost 36 people on my tour and I lost two of my soldiers,” said Vigue in an interview from Edmonton.

“It’s very difficult. I brought one of those boys home to his parents. It was suicide bombers that killed them,” added Vigue.

Despite the unimaginable horrors of war, Vigue said he doesn’t regret the years he spent serving his country.

“I liked it. I started with the air cadets in Castlegar and then joined the Trail militia. So I said, ‘Why not’”.

At the tender age of 17 Vigue joined the infantry.

After completing his basics he was posted to Calgary and then to Norway. That led him to Germany, Winnipeg, Victoria, and places in between.

But it wasn’t until he was in his mid-30s that Vigue actually went to war.

“I knew what I was getting into,” he said.

His first two tours were with the United Nations, while the final three were under the auspices of NATO.

“We had more authority to open fire then, but by then the war had died down quite a bit.”

Now that Vigue is retired, he is still involved in the military as a reservist in Edmonton.

“I take recruits in reserves and train them on the weekend,” he explained.

Vigue said while war is hell, it is not like one sees on TV when it comes to deployment. Recruits, he explained, are not sent on tour directly after completing basic training. In fact, those who are deployed are highly trained and ready for combat.

“The last battle group that went over there trained for a year-and-a-half.”

Looking back on his years in the service, Vigue said he’s proud to have served while seeing a bit of the world at the same time.

“I’ve enjoyed it. I got to see a lot of the world. Not everyone can say that,” he concluded.

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