Colonel Mike St-Louis: ‘Our ability as French-Canadians to manoeuvre on that spectrum … is one of our strengths.’Dave Chan
There are two ideas that link the Vandoos of 1914 to those of today: a sense that they are different from other Canadian soldiers, but also a constant need to prove their regiment's worth.
The language used to describe this situation has changed over the past century, as the founders of the Royal 22nd Regiment used to call themselves Canayens, meaning French-Canadians, as they discussed the burden of their ethnic origin.
"My battalion represents an entire race; it is a heavy responsibility," Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas-Louis Tremblay said in 1916. "We are determined to prove that the Canayens are not slackers."
While Colonel Michel-Henri St-Louis, 43, now embraces values of multiculturalism and diversity, he said he and his colleagues feel they "are carrying this heritage to this day."
A member of the French-speaking regiment since 1992, Col. St-Louis was a senior officer in 2011 in Afghanistan when the Canadian Forces put an end to their combat mission. He shut down three main forward-operating bases, and as he handed over the territory to U.S. forces, he felt his troops, hailing from the Canadian Forces Base in Valcartier, Que., had lived up to their reputation.
"This is not just one unit among all of the others in the military family," he said in an interview. "We have inherited a particular regimental history, but it is also the history of a province, of a part of Canada, and it is under that particular light that our work is analyzed."
Col. St-Louis confirmed the sense among veterans of the regiment that they tend to carry out their duties differently from other Canadian soldiers, stemming from their status as a linguistic minority among a largely anglophone entity.
"When we are deployed to Afghanistan or Bosnia, and we see tensions, we are really well positioned to intervene," he said. "Sometimes, we have to be more aggressive and fight the enemy, but at other times there is more room for discussion or to be conciliatory or to help, and our ability as French-Canadians to manoeuvre on that spectrum … is one of our strengths."
The regiment was born as a French-speaking entity 100 years ago in reaction to the near-monopoly that English-speaking Canadians exercised over the country's military. There was initial reluctance in the corridors of power in Ottawa, and the unit was initially branded with the English-only name of the 22nd Infantry Battalion (French Canadian). It eventually took the official name of the Royal 22e Régiment, earning the nickname of the Vandoos, an anglicized pronounciation of the number 22 (vingt-deux).
Retired major-general Alain Forand, who has been acting as the regiment's colonel since 2009, said the capture of the French town of Flers-Courcelette during the First World War from German troops was the first of many times the Vandoos proved their worth. Out of 900 soldiers involved in the mission, fewer than 300 came back.
"Among anglophones and the department of defence of the time, there was a misguided perception that French-Canadians were not combatants and that we would give up under duress," Mr. Forand said in an interview. "So we had to show that we were as good as them, or better."
During the Second World War, the Vandoos participated in the Sicily campaign and helped free the Netherlands, in addition to providing the King's Guard outside of Buckingham Palace in 1940. Key missions were also fulfilled at home. The Vandoos were called in when the War Measures Act was invoked during the October Crisis in 1970, during the standoff at Oka in 1990 and in the cleanup of the damage left in the wake of the 1998 ice storm.
Col. St-Louis said members of the regiment all love the Vandoos nickname that they have received from their colleagues in the rest of Canada.
"What I particularly like to hear is 'famous Vandoos.' That is where the expression takes all of its sense," Col. St-Louis said. "I won't hide the fact that some of my anglophone colleagues feel shortchanged. But we are the ones who are 'famous.'"
Founder: The First World War was starting, and prominent Quebeckers called for a French-speaking regiment. The leader of the group was Dr. Arthur Mignault, who put $50,000 to create the unit and waged a public-relations and political campaign in favour of a francophone unit, to be led by French-speaking officers. There was initial reluctance in the department of defence, but Dr. Mignault won over the Borden government and the unit quickly attracted thousands of volunteers.
Famous soldier: Corporal Joseph Kaeble, born in eastern Quebec, joined the regiment in 1916 and died two years later near Arras, in France, as he singlehandedly repelled a group of some 50 German soldiers with his Lewis gun. He received the Victoria Cross military medal posthumously.
Battle honours: The Vandoos have served in every major Canadian land operation since 1914. The troops won 18 battle honours for successful missions during the First World War, 25 others during the Second World War and one during the Korean War. The most recent battle honour was related to the combat mission in Afghanistan. The regiment's motto, like the province of Quebec's, is Je Me Souviens (I remember).
Size: The Vandoos currently have 2,315 regular-force members in Valcartier, Que.