Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 83 continued ... And the third member of this proud military family is Blair J. Gorman, born 16 June 1968. Blair joined the Navy in 1989 at the age of 21 and did his basic training in Cornwallis, N.S., course 8910. Upon completion of training he served aboard ship, based out of Halifax, as a Navy Steward. Blair saw active duty during his 6 month deployment during the 1st Persian Gulf War in 1991. It was during this NATO deployment, serving on HMCS Margaree, that a diving accident occurred killing 2 of Blair’s shipmates. The following is a portion of a newspaper article posted following that accident. 13 February, 1991 QUESTIONS REMAIN AFTER CANADIAN NAVY DIVERS' DEATHS Two Canadian navy divers from HMCS Margaree drowned Friday off the Madeira Islands, Portugese territories about 250 kilometers off the coast of North Africa. Master Seaman William Hynes, 31, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and SubLieutenant Corey Wells, 27, of Halifax were trapped inside a seawater intake pipe used to cool the engines of USS Pharris, a Knox (Mod) class guidedmissile cruiser. Margaree and Pharris were at the Madeira capital's port at Funchal at the time of the accident. Questions are being raised as to how the two divers came to be sucked into the vent. The two ships were on station with the NATO Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFLORANT) at the time. In 1991 Blair served as part of the decommissioning crew aboard HMCS Margaree and was eventually released from the Navy in 1992. In 1993 he joined the Army Reserves and served with the 33 Service Battalion as a vehicle tech until 1996. In early 2000 Blair was diagnosed with delayed onset PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and after years of therapy at the Operational Stress Injury Clinic, Blair reports that they “kept me alive”. Approximately 18 months ago, through The R.C.L., Nova Scotia / Nunavut Command’s partner, Paws Fur Thought, Blair was paired with his service dog Cessna. As a result of this pairing, Blair has returned to being a productive and happy Veteran and his friendship and unconditional love for Cessna is evident. Myself, and my wife Marsha, look forward to our golf games with Blair and Cessna and we thank him, and his son and his father for their service to Canada. Blair J. Gorman M.S. William Hynes Sub Lt Corey Wells Jack - Alexander - Blair Gorman Service dog Cessna
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