Melissa
Martin
Winnipeg Free Press
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press on July 13, 2024. It is as originally published and reproduced with permission. This is part two of a two part series.
In the months after the close call in the Kharkiv region, Luka’s injuries healed and he returned to the front. He got a medal from the Ukrainian military. Austin, who had saved his life, did not, which the guys teased him about sometimes. Austin hated that, they laugh.
“He didn’t stand out and shout about himself,” Craig says. “He never had an ego about it.”
And Luka, who felt a debt he both wanted to repay — “Croatians are like, ‘I don’t want to owe you money, I don’t want to owe you a favour,’” he says — and dreaded ever having to, made a point of joining any mission Austin went on, just in case.
On May 24, 2023, one year to the day since Austin saved his life, Luka called his friend.

“The first thing (Austin) said when he picked up was, ‘I was about to call you also today,’” Luka says. “I was like, ‘why? You saved my ass, you’re not owing me any calls.’”
At that time, Austin was not with the legion. He’d left Ukraine in the fall of 2022, travelling back to Canada to rest. (Unlike Ukrainian soldiers, foreign fighters were able to break their contracts with the military and leave at any time, though Ukraine recently passed a law requiring them to serve at least six months before they quit.) His family held a feast to welcome him back, where an Opaskwayak band councillor gave a speech about how proud they were of his service, and pledged an even bigger feast the next time he came home.

Melissa
Martin
Winnipeg Free Press
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press on July 13, 2024. It is as originally published and reproduced with permission. This will be part one of a two part series.

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Luka huddled in the foxhole as the growl of Russian tanks crept closer, their steel tracks chewing at the grassy fields of eastern Ukraine. For over two hours, the 33-year-old Croatian and his fellow fighters with Ukraine’s International Legion had been hunted by the drones that prowled the skies around Ternova, a tiny village just five kilometres from the Russian border. Now they were pinned, with no escape.
Tank shells ripped through the lip of the trench. Shrapnel pierced Luka’s right arm and then his leg. He fumbled to tighten two tourniquets, but couldn’t get a strong twist. Beside him, Michael O’Neill, a 47-year-old Australian they called Taz, lay dead. Luka radioed for help but the rest of his company, he thought, was still far away.

Pick up a copy or subscribe online to get the July 24th edition of the Opasquia Times to read more about a local hero.

31 Paramedics from across Manitoba attended an Awards Ceremony last week at Government House, hosted by the Honourable Anita Neville, Lt. Governor of Manitoba. They were honored with the Governor General of Canada Exemplary Service Medals. These Awards are part of the Canadian Honours System, for members of Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical System. They must have served Canada at least twenty years in a meritorious manner with the highest standard of good conduct and seen as an example for others to follow. Recipients came from Winnipeg Fire/Paramedic Service, STARS, North, South and West Districts of Shared Health Emergency Medical Services.
The North District had its largest presentation of Awards, with seven Recipients.
Jody Ssuki, Quality Officer, Flin Flon. Robert Trubiak, Manager, Flin Flon.
Carol Ross, EMR, Cranberry Portage. Dennis Fourre, Paramedic, Grand Rapids.
Jarett Ketcheson,
Manager, The Pas. Cam Ritzer, Executive Director Allied Health.
All received their Medal for 20 years of Exemplary Service.
And Darren Baker, Regional Director of Emergency Medical Services, received the next highest Honor. His First Silver Bar, for 30 years of service.
Of the 2,200 Paramedics in Manitoba, Only 263 have achieved 20 years, only 67 have achieved 30 years, and only 10 have achieved 40 years.
Ken Gurba, Chairperson
Manitoba EMS Awards Committee