Fallen soldier allowed 'good people to be great'

CFB PETAWAWA – Petawawa wept for one of its own daughters on Tuesday.

Master Corporal Kristal Lee-Anne Giesebrecht, of 1 Canadian Field Hospital, wife of Petawawa's Matthew Giesebrecht, was remembered in a life celebration service held at the City of London building at base Petawawa.

Several hundred members of the military and the community gathered to remember a woman “...diminutive of stature, but extraordinary in character.”

As a medical technician, Master Cpl. Giesebrecht was all about saving lives, yet her own was taken when the vehicle she was travelling in struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan just over one week ago. She was an eight-year veteran of the Canadian Forces.

Mr. Giesebrecht and his son Jonathan, along with other members of Master Cpl. Giesebrecht's family, followed her flag draped casket into the building for the ceremony. Following the laying of a wreath by Mr. Giesebrecht, the singing of O Canada, and the reading of scripture, the tributes to Master Cpl. Giesebrecht began, the most touching of which was delivered by her husband.

He paused before her casket, before climbing to the podium.

"Kristal was such an amazing person," he said. "She was a blessing to everyone, whether you had known her for five minutes or for five years. She had that special something that allows good people to be great."

Mr. Giesebrecht said that his wife had made him the happiest man in the world.

"You will forever be my one true love, my best friend, my eternal soul mate. You are my hero and your spirit will live on in me forever. I too believe that our souls will meet again and I promise you, you will never be forgotten. Wait for me. I will find you. I love you," he said.

Lightening things up, Mr. Giesebrecht said that 'Kristal' loved to party, being the one to eventually call for shooters, then managing to seemingly out drink men twice her size. Only later did Mr. Giesebrecht discover she was using the trick of firing the shooter back over her shoulder.

"She loved bringing people together, especially friends. That's what she did best," Mr. Giesebrecht said.

He added that there was some aboriginal heritage in Master Cpl. Giesebrecht's background. Because of her interest in things medical and helping people, Mr. Giesebrecht would say she could have been a medicine woman. Responding, Kristal would pound her fist into her hand, then spread her arms wide and tease him with a pretend spell saying 'I am a medicine woman.'

Mr. Giesebrecht said some of his wife's favourite things were flipping through photo albums, sitting around a campfire with her family, exploratory walks on a sun soak beach somewhere far, far away, caressing massages, and butterfly kisses first thing in the morning.

"My favourite things; her unforgettable smile, her sparkling eyes, her fun-loving laugh and her always comforting touch, simply telling me that she was there. These gifts were easily enough to overpower me. What I can tell you from the depths of my soul was that it was her undeniable love for me that truly captivated my heart. She was an angel and she completed me in every way.

“She was actually my dream girl, my best friend, my lover, my soul mate, and my strength. Kristal was my everything and take comfort in knowing that I was that for her," he said.

Lt.-Col. Richard Poirier, the commanding officer of 1 Canadian Field Hospital, stepped to the microphone to pay his tribute.

He described Master Cpl. Giesebrecht as professional, and tenacious and always willing to help but it was her smile he remembered most.

"I can't remember even one day when she wasn't smiling," he stated. "She made a lasting impression and you just wanted to be her friend."

He said she was well respected by her fellow members of the forces and by those in the minor hockey community of Petawawa where she volunteered much of her time.

Tears filled the eyes of Sgt. Annick Duguay as she paid her tribute.

Sgt. Duguay had many words to describe Master Cpl. Giesebrecht including sweet, innocent, and intelligent.

"She was an amazing soldier, a devoted wife, and my best friend. She may have come in a small package but she had one thing bigger than anyone else; her heart," Sgt. Duguay said.

She said her friend had one goal, to make those around her feel special and loved. As a soldier, she said that Master Cpl. Giesebrecht gave her life for what she believed in.

Stating that it was not fair that her friend's life had been taken, Sgt. Duguay said Master Cpl. Giesebrecht had left for a much bigger mission in Heaven.

"You are missed my more people than you could ever imagine," she said.

In his pastoral reflection, Capt. Daniel Forget, unit chaplain, said in Master Cpl. Giesebrecht's spiritual journey, she had brought healing to the wounded, right to her last breath.

"She died as she lived, a medicine woman," he said.

Burial for Master Cpl. Giesebrecht was held immediately following the service in the Calvin United and First Presbyterian Cemetery on Boundary Road in Pembroke. A reception in her honour followed at the Normandy Officers' Mess at the base.

Master Cpl. Giesebrecht was born in Wallaceburg, Ontario. She graduated from St. Lawrence College receiving her diploma as a medical technician. She married Matthew Giesebrecht, becoming stepmother to Jonathan, on June 16, 2001. On January 10, 2002, she joined the Canadian Forces as a medical technician. Since then she has spent her military career in Petawawa, working at the Canadian Medical Equipment Depot and at 1 Canadian Field Hospital. She was on her second deployment to Afghanistan. She completed her first tour in 2006.