Pitt Meadows resident, author and entertainer Gordon Kirkland was selected as one of 150 flagbearers who will take the Invictus Games flag across Canada.
Kirkland’s leg of the tour took place on Aug. 21 with stops in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and finally Hope, where he handed the flag off to the next flagbearer on the tour.
Following a visit in 2013 to the US-based Warrior Games for wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans, Prince Harry was inspired to create an expanded international version. The inaugural Invictus Games took place in London in the fall of 2014.
This year’s Games in Toronto from Sept. 23-30 will feature athletes from 17 countries.
The Games are intended to demonstrate soldiers’ and veterans’ indefatigable drive to overcome and the power of sport on their journey to recovery.
“I was incredibly honoured to have been selected as a flagbearer for this incredible program,” said Kirkland in his address in Chilliwack. “I must admit I was also a little surprised to be selected as my service to country was on the civilian side in the 1970’s and early 1980’s not in military service. I’m told I was selected because of my 27 years of experience with a spinal cord injury and related post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as my work advocating for improved accessibility for those with mobility impairments.”