Further MSM:
The Usual Disclaimer:
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=38e2305e-670b-4ea1-8bab-ef95a87da0d8&k=18972
Posthumous degree for soldier
Cpl. Jordan Anderson close to graduating from University of Manitoba when he was killed in Kandahar
Jamie Hall
The Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, October 17, 2021
EDMONTON - Cpl. Jordan Anderson's home office in Edmonton has remained largely untouched since he was killed in July by a roadside bomb near Kandahar.
The papers he wrote for his university degree are still piled neatly on the desk.
"I go in that room a lot," says Anderson's widow, Amanda. "It gives me comfort."
Education, she says, was paramount to her husband, whose goal was to eventually earn a master's degree in strategic studies and become an intelligence officer in the military.
When he was killed, he was working toward that goal and was close to completing his bachelor of arts degree through the university's military support program at the University of Manitoba.
So close, in fact, the university will award the degree posthumously during Thursday's fall convocation in Winnipeg.
It's the first time since the Korean War a Canadian university has given a posthumous degree to a member of the forces killed in action.
"It's just wonderful," said Amanda, who will accept the degree on her husband's behalf.
"Jordan worked so hard for this degree. So many times he would come home after being in the field for weeks and sit down and write a paper late into the night on some obscure topic.
"He was determined to get it, no matter what else was going on in his life," she said.
George MacLean, the acting head of the university's political studies department, never met Anderson. But he happened to be reviewing Anderson's academic file the day he and five of his fellow soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle struck a massive roadside bomb near Kandahar.
MacLean noticed that Anderson, 25, was an exceptional student and was close to completing his degree.
"He had completed all of his major degree requirements," said MacLean. "So when we were approached about awarding the degree posthumously, there was certainly a good case to be made for it."
Anderson's military family was keenly aware of his devotion to education and, through an online military forum called army.ca, raised enough money to start two scholarships in his name at the university.
One will be for students entering the political studies program and the second for a student in the middle of the program.
Amanda said news of the degree, and the scholarships, has helped with her struggle to find something positive in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"That's what Jordan was about," she said.
"He always said to me, 'We have to focus on the positive; you can't focus on the casualties, you have to focus on the good we're doing over there (in Afghanistan.)'
"He's getting his degree, and there are going to be two scholarships in his name. That's positive."
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http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5goPpCPspLGI0jB8bA-F_lqsjrVlw
Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan to receive posthumous degree
17 hours ago
WINNIPEG - The University of Manitoba will award a posthumous bachelor of arts degree to an Edmonton-based soldier who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this year.
Cpl. Jordan Anderson, 25, a member of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, had been pursuing his degree through the university's military support office.
He had completed nearly all program requirements when he and five other soldiers, along with an Afghan interpreter, were killed by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar city July 4.
"He did very well in his courses," said George MacLean, the acting head of the U of M's political studies department, who noted that Anderson had intended to pursue an advanced degree in political science and international relations.
He said the decision to award the degree was made after Anderson's friends and family members contacted the university.
He said Anderson died the same day he spoke to the university about expanding his education program.
"I know in many cases it was very emotional for people because you couldn't help but think about the overwhelming nature of this individual, who, like the 70 other soldiers who have been killed over there were killed in the prime of life," he said.
MacLean also said the granting of the degree is a first for the institution.
"We have granted degrees posthumously in the past, but never one of this nature to a member of the Canadian Forces."
Anderson's widow, Amanda Anderson, will receive the degree of behalf of her husband at a convocation ceremony in Winnipeg on Thursday. It's expected that members of the military will also be in attendance.
Maj. Erik Liebert of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton says events like this are significant.
"Canadians pay attention to what's going on overseas and watch as soldiers return home in better or worse circumstances. What doesn't get a lot of acknowledgment is the work done by individuals to better themselves and better others. This is certainly a case where Cpl. Anderson put a lot of time and effort into improving himself."
Liebert said he hopes the ceremony will make more soldiers aware of university support programs available under the Canadian Forces.
"A long-serving soldier can receive up to $20,000 of subsidized education," he said.
Anderson, who was born in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, spent most of his childhood in Inuvik, N.W.T.
He is believed to be the first northerner to die in Afghanistan.
Two scholarships have also been established in his name.
Fallen soldier from Edmonton honoured with B.A degree
Oct, 17 2007 - 6:50 AM
http://www.630ched.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=77177&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
EDMONTON - The University of Manitoba is awarding a posthumous bachelor of arts degree to an Edmonton-based soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.
Corporal Jordan Anderson was a member of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The 25 year old man had completed nearly all the requirements of his B-A through the university's military support office when he was killed in a roadside blast July 4th.
The degree will be presented to his widow, Amanda Anderson, at a convocation ceremony tomorrow.
George MacLean, the acting head of the U of M's political studies department, says the full-time soldier did very well in his courses and was highly thought of by the university. He says the decision to award the degree was made after Anderson's friends and family members contacted the U of M.
MacLean also says it will mark the first time the institution has granted a posthumous degree to a member of the Canadian Forces.
Major Erik Liebert of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry says the degree will help shed more light on the lives of Canadian soldiers.
Two scholarships have also been established in Anderson's name
(Details of which will be posted on site tomorrow, Thurdays October 18th, 2007)