The federal government will soon award the Memorial Cross, which is currently given only to mothers and wives of fallen Canadian soldiers, to their husbands and fathers as well.
The Memorial Cross, also known as the Silver Cross, was created to honour the mothers and widows of fallen Canadian soldiers. (CBC)
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An official announcement is expected as early as Friday. It will come just days after of the death of Capt. Nichola Goddard, who was killed in a battle in Afghanistan.
The Memorial Cross, which is better known as the Silver Cross, was created in 1919 to recognize the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers' families.
Every year, one recipient is designated the Silver Cross mother and lays a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Remembrance Day.
Last year's Silver Cross mother said she felt emotionally isolated from her husband, who watched from the sidelines as she took part in the ceremony. Claire and Richard Leger had asked to be recognized as Silver Cross parents, but were told no.
Their son, Sgt. Marc Leger, was killed by a U.S. bomb near Kandahar in 2002.
"We both raised our son together and [the request] was just justified," said Claire Leger. "It made sense that we both go together."
While the Department of National Defence says fathers and widowers will soon be eligible to receive the medal, the Canadian Legion says there will be no change to the Silver Cross mother designation.
Claire Leger said her thoughts go out to Goddard's husband, Jason Beam, who could become one of the first men to receive the medal.
"That poor man, who has to bury his wife," Leger said.
"If this will help him just a little bit, that would be wonderful."