Afghan monument could be up by September
Regiment worked for more than a year to get decommissioned LAVs in place
CAMBRIDGE — The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada hopes to have a monument to Afghan veterans installed in front of the Cambridge armoury by mid-September.
The regiment has been working for more than a year to install two decommissioned LAVs to commemorate the contributions of Canadians who served in Afghanistan.
The LAV — short for light armoured vehicle — is a 17-tonne, eight-wheeled armoured troop carrier that was the main fighting vehicle of the mission in Afghanistan.
Equipped with two machine guns and a chain gun, the vehicles could hold up to 10 soldiers and reach speeds of 100 km/h. They were built in London, Ont.
As many as 250 of the decommissioned LAVs are being made available over the next couple of years to communities across Canada for use as monuments.
The regiment is marking its 150th anniversary from Sept. 16-18 with celebrations, including a ceremonial trooping of the regimental colours. “Our hope is that we can have something in place for that time,” said retired colonel Brian Rainville, who has been spearheading the project.
These monuments are fitting tributes for this area, Rainville said, noting that at least 90 people from Waterloo Region served in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014.
Altogether 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan, including 158 who lost their lives there, and many more who suffered physical or psychological injury, he said.
“I think it’s very important that Canadians recognize the service of those young Canadians, that they went and put their lives on the line for something that Canada thought was important. I think we need something tangible for people to see, that they can ask questions about and learn about.”
The regiment is just waiting for final approval from Cambridge, which contributed $10,000 to the project and owns the parkette where the monument will go.
“Rather than just having it sitting static like a parked vehicle, we’d have it set up on a bit of an angle, and a bit elevated at one end, so that it looks like it’s crossing rough terrain,” Rainville said. There will also be two plaques commemorating Afghan veterans.
“We’re just waiting for the last pieces of paper to come through,” Rainville said. One hurdle has been the need to get approval from the United States State Department, because the vehicle’s interior was treated with a material to prevent fragments chipping off during an attack and injuring those inside. The material is a controlled substance and needs special permits, he said.
“I think the timeline … is attainable considering that all the correct paperwork has been submitted,” said Cambridge city clerk Michael Di Lullo, who has been helping Rainville with the project.
The regiment also plans a similar monument in front of the armouries on East Avenue in Kitchener, but that project isn’t as far along, Rainville said, as the regiment needs approval to put the LAV on federal land. Waterloo city council voted in March to erect its own LAV monument, with the aim of having it in place by Remembrance Day.
The regiment has raised about $31,000 so far for the project, but is still about $9,000 short of its goal. Donations can be made online at www.lav3.ca.