In the celebrity-crazed, reality-based society we now live in, the word hero has become debased currency. Where once it was reserved for those who performed great acts of bravery and courage, we now find it applied to everything from talk show host to Olympic skaters.
Like the ancient Greeks, instead of hero, we should instead refer to those performing great acts of bravery as "one of the immortals".
Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick would qualify as one of the immortals. By making the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield of southern Afghanistan, he will live on not only in the memories of those who knew and loved him, but also in the annals of Canadian history.
Courage comes in many forms, but few of us in this day and age are called upon to test our mettle in war.
By all accounts Darren was a kind and gentle soul loved by family and friends and all those whose lives he touched.
It's a safe bet that when he joined the army in 2006, he knew the day would come when he would be fighting in Afghanistan.
Canadian troops have served there since 2002, and 141 sons and daughters have lost their lives there since.
We don't know all of the reason's why Darren chose to join up, but we suspect that it had little to do with the geopolitics of oil or world politics, and everything to do with serving his country, safeguarding the freedom of Afghan civilians, and protecting his fellow soldiers.
As a corporal in the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, Darren was one of a band of brothers, and he fought and died alongside comrades who, like him, were prepared to put their lives on the line for the people they stood shoulder to shoulder with in a worthy cause.
As American poet Henry David Thoreau once said, "most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
Not so Darren Fitzpatrick. In a short but exemplary life he did what all of us strive to do before we die, he made a difference.
He made a difference not only in the lives of those who knew him, but also in the lives of ordinary Afghanis who have long suffered under the boot of oppression.
While Darren's mortal remains will be laid to rest on Tuesday in Prince George, his spirit will live on.
Jim and Colleen Fitzpatrick raised a wonderful son, but now he belongs to the people of Prince George and all Canadians as we embrace his sacrifice and his memory.
So, as we gather over the next few days to pay homage to Darren, let us do so not in sorrow but in celebration of a life and a man who made a difference.
Darren Fitzpatrick well deserves to be called "one of the immortals".
