Expression of Love

From the Barbados Cadet Corps

By

2Lt D. Marshall

OC No 10 Unit

Today we say farewell to the youngest member of Unit 15 – Jnr Cadet Bjerkhamn, L.

 He was a sunny, joyful child whose good humor saw him through the challenges of the Central Recruiting Programme and Unit Training which he never missed since joining the Corps.

 Luke was fully integrated into our cadet Unit and also into the Junior Cadet Programme. If Luke was able to speak to us now, he would want us to take the focus off him and put it on the other member of the unit. He would also not want us to focus on the sadness of his passing, but instead look at the happiness he shared with us especially in a camp setting. He would want us to look at each other and appreciate what we have together as a Unit and by extension as a Corps, and what we can do to make it better.

 We will remember Luke as the person who came into the Unit and passed on a sense of service and selflessness instilled in him by his family circle.   Luke showed us that we can live out our lives as best as we can with a sense of purpose, and with love, and with joy.  Luke never hesitated to show his unit members who are closest to him, how much he cared about them. When we saw Luke coming, it was never with a packed lunch for himself only but with a packed picnic which he eagerly shared with his fellow recruits. Luke treated his senior Cadets and Officers with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. 

 “Is it possible for a person who shared his life with us for such a short time to leave us such a legacy?”….. you may wonder. I say to you that this is possible and those of you would would have known Luke - even if for a short moment, - will agree with this.

 To the parents and family of Luke, from the Officers of the BCC, thank you for blessing the Corps with the chance to share Luke’s life with us. His time in the Corps was well spent and we are consoled by the fact that that we made a difference in his life. From his fellow cadets, they say to you that Luke’s fleeting presence had a lasting impact on their lives. 

 If the people we love are taken from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Jnr Cadet Bjerkhamn, L, we all love you, and will miss you. But you will always be in our minds. We will call your name often and speak of you with pride. You will always be in our hearts.