Remembrance

On the morning of October 22, 2014, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot and killed while standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The gunman shot Cirillo from behind in an act of utmost cowardice before storming Parliament Hill, where he was confronted and killed by Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.

Two days earlier on October 20, a car driven by a suspected homegrown terrorist intentionally ran down Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and another soldier in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Vincent died the following day from his injuries.

These events shook the nation. But as often happens after such acts of evil, many acts of courage and selflessness also emerged, from the passersby who tried their best to save Cirillo’s life to the brave and quick action taken by Vickers.

In the hours and days that followed, the public reacted by sharing their grief and shock. As these moments unfolded, photojournalists captured the events that now mark a moment in Canada’s history.

Photographer Lewis Hine once remarked, “There are two things I wanted to do. I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected. I wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated.” These powerful images captured by the photojournalists aptly reflect Hine’s intentions.

This collection of images comes from some of the photographers who, from October 20th and the following twelve days, devoted their talent to exemplifying the ultimate mission of photojournalism: to inform, question, and inspire action.

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Text: Laura May
Contributing photographers: Tyler Anderson, Cole Burston, Nathan Denette, Lars Hagberg, Andrew Johnson, Richard Lautens, Fred Lum, Rick Madonik, Christinne Muschi, Peter Power, Steve Russell, Justin Tang, Warren Toda, Bernard Weil.