Honouring and remembering Indigenous veterans and the struggles faced postwar – New Hamburg Independent
Gagage Wahya, a fire keeper at Crow Shield Lodge in New Hamburg, was 18 years old when he joined the military
November 14, 2022
One day, when Gagage Wahya was serving in the armed forces during the Afghan war in July 2007, his troop’s (COR342) convoy was ambushed.
“We had an IED that was buried in the ground and in the middle of the road that went off,” recalled Wahya who’s now a fire keeper at Crow Shield Lodge in New Hamburg.
Then there were gunfire exchanges for about 20 minutes.
“I struggle with PTSD, with complex trauma,” Wahya said, recounting one of the most troubling experiences he faced in the military.
