Memorial globe honours our fallen soldiers
On display at Buckhorn remembrance service
The Highway of Heroes Memorial globe will be part of Remembrance Day services Tuesday at the Buckhorn Community Centre.
The memorial globe tells the grassroots story of how the Highway of Heroes started in 2002, with four battle crosses to acknowledge the first four fallen soldiers of the Afghanistan war.
The metal ring the memorial globe sits on has the 158 names of the fallen soldiers and the four names of the Canadian civilians killed in Afghanistan. The first four names of the fallen soldiers lines up with the four battle crosses.
A Hercules aircraft with the image of soldiers carrying a fallen comrade on the aircraft is depicted in one scene. Six hearses acknowledge the devastating events on April 8, 2007 and July 4, 2007 when six soldiers were carried home along the Highway of Heroes (Hwy. 401 from Trenton to Toronto) with civilians and firefighters atop a bridge over the highway.
An image of former Chief of Defense Staff Gen. (Ret.) Walter Natynczyk saluting is on the memorial globe to acknowledge the incredible support Kerri Tadeu, co-founder of the idea, has received from him and acknowledge his service as the CDS during the time of the Afghanistan War.
The letters “PPCLI” (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry) are on the globe to acknowledge the first four soldiers that fell and the last soldier that fell were PPCLI. The damaged vehicle on the memorial is to acknowledge the civilians that were killed during the Afghanistan war. The Highway of Heroes image on the globe and the date “May 17 2006” acknowledges the death of “Canada’s daughter,” the first female Canadian soldier to be killed in combat, Capt. Nicola Goddard.
A piece of metal from a military vehicle that was in Afghanistan encompasses the bottom of the memorial.
The globes are made for bonfires. Each starts as a steel ball. Donnan then cuts designs into the surface, allowing the fire light inside to shine through. The artist said, “This globe was a lot more emotional to work on than the other ones,” as he points to the engraved names of 158 military personnel and four civilians.
Donnan and his sister, Kelly Baldock of Belleville, worked on this one.
“The purpose of the Highway of Heroes mobile memorial is to honour all that gave some, and some that gave all,” said Tadeu, who lost her friend, Michelle Mendes.
The other founder of the memorial project, Collin Fitzgerald, returned from Afghanistan to face a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. “Now, I try to take my pain and turn it into purpose,” said Fitzgerald.
This memorial will be in Buckhorn to help us remember.
Christmas Tea
St. Matthew-St. Aidan Anglican Church, Buckhorn, 1937 Lakehurst Road (across from the Locks) presents Christmas Tea Saturday, November 16, 2019 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with demonstrations by Gwen McCallum of Serendipity Craft Werx and Victoria Whitney of Griffin’s Greenhouses.
Fancy sandwiches, delectable sweets and a variety of teas will be served. Coffee and hot apple cider too! Admission only $15 at the door. Please call 705-6571456 to reserve.