Getting to know James Hayward Arnal

Seeing a fallen soldier journey the Highway of Hero’s is uniquely Canadian, filling us with as much heartache as it does pride. Watching through a grieving parent’s eyes drives home the immeasurable loss we’ve suffered.

Although I wasn’t there the day Cpl. James Hayward Arnal traveled the Highway of Heroes, his Mom, Wendy, is helping me understand his story.

James connection to a pillow struck me as odd when we began this campaign. Other than the horrendous lack of comfort for our soldiers in Afghanistan, why a pillow?

Wendy was happy to share.

Like most little boys, James didn’t stop to rest – unless he was exhausted or sick. She remembers an ear infection when he was small. The medication wasn’t working fast enough and James couldn’t find relief from the pain.

She started rubbing the outside of his ear with a Q-tip. She rolled the plastic edge across the outer ear and lobe, back and forth, gently coaxing him to relax and concentrate on something other than the pain. It worked – Wendy rolled that Q-tip most of the night while James rested.

When James’ belongings were returned to her, his journal, gifts he’d bought while traveling, his teddy bear were all inside the box. But it’s the pillow Wendy gravitated to. The pillow that cradled his head and gave him comfort night after night.

She told me a story about a child that stepped on a land mine close to where James slept on the ground. He and his crew cried that night for a girl they’d never known and how unbearably wrong it was for her to have died. She knows that after they cried, he laid his head down on the pillow. Comfort. Peace in a place where there is no sense and sometimes even less justice.

On November 20th, we’ll be launching “Pillows for Troops” in Winnipege to deliver comfort to the soldiers who put their lives on the line every day in Afghanistan.

In 2012, James’ pillow will be interred at the new Human Rights Museum being built in Winnipeg.

James gave his life to protect something bigger than himself. Our “Pillows for Troops” campaign celebrates and salutes all of our soldiers and reminds us that we can all contribute.

Join our cause and send our troops your support in the form of comfort.