07/05/2025
True courage isn’t the absence of fear / It’s acting with honor when everything is on the line
Captain Snyder and Master-Corporal Ball’s extraordinary actions alongside Kipling’s timeless words reminds us that heroism comes in many forms.
Captain Jonathan Snyder earned the Star of Military Valour posthumously for his actions in Afghanistan’s Zhari District in 2008. During a night patrol, his small team was ambushed by a numerically superior Taliban force. Despite overwhelming odds, Snyder repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to coordinate the defense and extract his team. He personally engaged multiple enemy positions while ensuring his Afghan National Army partners and Canadian soldiers could retreat to safety. What makes his actions worthy of Victoria Cross consideration wasn’t just his tactical leadership during the ambush, but his selfless dedication that continued until his tragic accidental death days later. His complete disregard for personal safety while ensuring the survival of others exemplifies the “extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy” criterion.
Master-Corporal J. Donovan Ball’s extraordinary valor similarly deserves recognition at the highest level. These men demonstrated the kind of courage that goes beyond ordinary duty - the willingness to sacrifice everything for others.
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you… If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’”
Kipling’s words, written over a century ago, capture the same essence we see in these modern heroes.
Both the Victoria Cross criteria and Kipling’s “If” define the same standard: not perfection, but the courage to do what’s right when it costs everything. They remind us that true greatness isn’t measured by success or failure, but by how we respond when tested by impossible circumstances.
The Commonwealth’s highest military honor recognizes “most conspicuous bravery” and “extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.” Reading these stories alongside Kipling’s timeless wisdom reminds us that character is forged in moments when everything is on the line and we choose honor over safety, duty over comfort, and others over ourselves.
Both soldiers deserve thorough review to determine if their extraordinary actions meet the exceptionally high standard required for the Canada's highest military honor.
