Military veteran Fran Caravan was the only disabled veteran from the Sunshine Coast to take the field for the salute to veterans at the BC Lions’ half-time show on Nov. 7.
“It was a proud moment to represent my community,” Caravan said. “I got to meet some extraordinary veterans and make some new friends.”
Caravan said she was glad to accept the invitation from Veterans Affairs.
Caravan served in the military as a CAF communications specialist in the Army element of the Canadian Forces, where she specialized in radio, teletype and CRATTZ – which is the encoding and decoding of top secret messages.
She did six months of training with Charlie Company at the “Diefen-bunker” at CFB Carp, Ont.
“It was the site of some of Canada’s most top-secret communications,” Caravan said.
Caravan was injured during a tactical manoeuvre in a vehicle convoy delivering classified messages to soldiers and commanding officers, when her vehicle was hit and flipped over three times. Caravan suffered spinal damage and a broken lumbar disc. She also had to have several pieces of shrapnel surgically removed from her abdomen and knee.
“I have problems with my lower back and my leg gives out every so often, but all in all I am glad to be here to see my children grow up and help others,” Caravan said.
Caravan enlisted in the military when she was 16. Due to her age, her father had to co-sign for her.
“Military is in my blood,” Caravan said. “[My family] has been serving Canada since World War I.”
Her grandfather, Pte. Philippe Donati of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, R.C.I.C, left for Europe in September of 1943, two months before the birth of his second son. Donati died in Normandy on July 21, 1944.
After her grandfather’s death, Caravan said that his friend and company corporal, Jules Sirois, began corresponding with her grandmother.
“They fell in love and were married the year after he returned to Canada. Jules used to tell us grandchildren stories of the war and the close friendship they had,” Caravan said.
After she was released from the Army, Caravan joined the Canadian Coast Guard and served as a radio operator and GBS programmer. She retired and moved to the Sunshine Coast, where she has dedicated herself to helping other veterans and those in need on the Coast.
