Canadian Ranger receives international accolades for good deed

From left to right: Selena and Gary Bath bring winter coats to Lynn Marchessault in Pink Mountain, BC, in November 2020. From there, Bath, a Canadian Ranger who lives in Fort St. John, drove Marchessault, her children, and pets more than 1,600 kilometres to the Yukon-Alaska border so she could reunite with her husband, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Canadian Ranger Lindsay Chung
4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group
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Canadian Ranger (CR) Gary Bath of Fort St. John, a member of the Pouce Coupe Canadian Ranger Patrol in northern British Columbia, has found himself doing countless television, radio, and newspaper interviews for national and international media outlets in the past few months.

Last November, he helped reunite a military family from the United States in time for the holiday season by driving Lynn Marchessault and her two children more than 1,600 kilometres after they were caught in a snowstorm. People in Canada, the U.S., and even Europe have grabbed onto the story of CR Bath’s generosity and willingness to jump in and help others.

He is back in the news again, as the American nut company Planters heard about his good deed and is honouring him and the Marchessaults.

This year, instead of spending $5 million on a Super Bowl commercial, the company decided to highlight stories of people who went “a nut above” to help others. They are spending that ad money on those people and the initiatives they support.

For CR Bath and Marchessault family, Planters is giving both a new car and a lifetime supply of nuts.

“They sent us a message through Facebook Messenger, and the note started off with ‘This may sound crazy, but it’s the truth. Keep reading,’” said CR Bath. “They read our story and wanted to give us a gift.”

CR Bath has been amazed by all the media attention the story has received

“It’s been quite crazy and very busy with all the phone calls and interviews. When we first did it, I just figured that a few friends on Facebook would see it, and that’s as far as it would go. To see that it is going around the world pretty much for the second time, it’s just very shocking.”

In December, Major-General Peter B. Andrysiak Jr., Commanding Officer of United States Army Alaska, sent CR Bath a medallion and a letter of thanks expressing gratitude and admiration for his character and integrity.

Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist W. Brett Wilson has offered an all-expenses-paid vacation in the Yukon for CR Bath and his family.

“I appreciate everyone saying congratulations and good job and thanks for being nice and stuff like that,” CR Bath said.

Since the drive, he has stayed in contact with Lynn Marchessault, and they speak online every day.

The famous drive

Marchessault was driving with her two children from Georgia to Alaska in mid-November to reunite with her husband Staff Sergeant Tim Marchessault, who is stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. Several days into their trip they were caught in a snow storm in northern B.C.

Thanks to the power of social media several players in the military community connected and ensured the family was reunited.

“Teena Sew first ran into Lynn and helped her out,” said CR Bath. “When they got to Pink Mountain, Lynn said she couldn’t drive any further, so Teena put a call out on Facebook, and then Tanya Hunt saw her post, so she shared it, and Joe Elliott saw Tanya’s post and re-shared it, and I saw Joe’s post. Seeing Joe’s post, I saw people’s comments of how they wished they could help or they’d like to donate money to help and nobody really saying they could drive all the way. So I talked to my wife, and she said ‘What are you still doing here?’”

He drove Lynn, her two children, two dogs, and a cat in her pickup truck, pulling their U-Haul trailer more than 1,600 kilometres from Pink Mountain, B.C., to the Yukon-Alaska border near Beaver Creek, Yukon. The drive took two and a half days.

“I didn’t think much about how long it would take or anything like that. I didn’t even think about how I was going to get home because I knew I had Joe [Elliott], and my local MLA Don Davies trying to find me a ride, so I just left everything in their hands. There are a few people who donated money for a plane ticket to get me home, so we really only had to figure out how I was going to get from Beaver Creek back to Whitehorse.”

On the return journey, an RCMP officer drove him from the U.S. border to Beaver Creek; then a local mechanic gave him a ride to Whitehorse. He spent the night in Whitehorse and caught a flight home the next day.

Service comes naturally to CR Bath

CR Bath has been with Pouce Coupe CRP for almost three years.

“One of my friends was in the Canadian Rangers and he told me what they do, and it sounded interesting. I went to a patrol meeting one night, and they said it was fun and every now and then they get to go out and help people, and I said, ‘That sounds like something I would like to do.’”

Although much of the training has been paused due to COVID-19 and public health orders, CR Bath did complete the Canadian Ranger Basic Military Indoctrination and met many Rangers and Canadian Ranger Instructors.

Before joining 4 CRPG, CR Bath served as a member of the Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC) in Fort St. John and with the Cadet Corps in Ontario. He served with the CIC for five years.

Canadian Ranger Gary Bath, pictured here during his Canadian Ranger Basic Military Indoctrination training at Albert Head Training Centre, has been a Canadian Ranger for nearly three years. He previously served with the Cadet Instructors Cadre in Fort St. John and the Cadet Corps in Ontario.

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