Clinton News Record, 2016-10-12, Page 1818 News Record • Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell smiles at members of the Canadian Armed
Forces as she inspects the parade.
The Huron County Afghanistan Community Monument on the night of Oct. 1.
REAL
E 5Ti4TE
LTD.
111_;AFF4 an
alRatnid
3 Main St.
Seaforth
519.600.1577
Direct 519.272.5413
THE SIGN THAT SAYS SOLD
AMY
McCLURE
Sales Rep.
519-525-3988
The colour party stand at attention during the dedication ceremony for the Huron County
Afghanistan war monument Oct. 1.
Huron County Afghan war monument unveiled
Darryl Coote
Postmedia Network
War monuments bring
home and make real the sto-
ries of those who fought over-
seas in Canada's name, said
Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the
lieutenant govemor of Ontario,
during the Oct. 1 dedication
ceremony for a monument
honouring Canadian soldiers
who fought in Afghanistan.
She told the hundreds of
people who had assembled
despite the threat of rain Sat-
urday afternoon that the mil-
itary vehicle placed upon a
cairn of boulders by the
MAUREEN
WILDFONG
Sales Rep.
519-525-9954
Please Visit 'IArww' &&Tff7ig afOrth. of r To View
Isi •s
GREAT LOCATION
HEATED SHOP
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPING
SPACIOUS HOME
w
-• I r•;
-
..
t .
kr •' PI ffir i'
88 EAST WILLIAM ST., SEAFORTH 44790 LINE 34, DUBLIN 7375 LINE 34, ST COLUMBAN 16 FAIRWAY ROAD, EGMONDVILLE
MLS# 335673 $219,900 MLS# 137178 $299,900 MLS# 292142 $299,900
MLS# 918296 $419,000
FULL BASEMENT
INCOME PROPERTY
CHARACTER GALORE
NEW PRICE
P
QQ�`pP''f
__ . ... •
itiiskjul
iv. - �
P
ate:
s.
k :: •
,k:a� ®
"��Q�'
Q p
sr
....
�oJ�q ° °' . - wee..
r
•
i.II� IFIL'',
n.:.Etri== .a
I
11 KIPPEN ROAD, EGMONDVILLE 161 DINSLEY ST WEST, BLYTH 116 GODERICH ST WEST, SEAFORTH
MLS# 791109 $219,000 MLS# 378046 $189,000 MLS# 704291 $279,900
76558 MORRISON LINE
MLS# 182900 $259,900
www.sellingseaforth.com
museum is more than a sym-
bol --- it's a piece of history.
"Most of us have seen the
light armed vehicles on the
news being driven by our sol-
diers, but the presence of this
one here on these peaceful
grounds is quite powerful. It
brings the stories of our troops
back home to Ontario and to
Huron County," she said.
Made from the hull of a
light armoured vehicle
(LAV) that had seen combat
in Afghanistan during the
12 -year war and atop a cairn
of stone from the Victoria St.
United Church that was
destroyed during the 2011
tornado, she said the monu-
ment will teach future gen-
erations not only that Huron
County supports its military,
but of the sacrifices the sol-
diers made in their name.
"People will visit this
museum and this monument
for generations to come. Partic-
ularlyyoung people such as the
scouts, the guides and the
cadets gathered here today. All
of them will learn how our sol-
diers fought by seeing their
actual equipment. They will
also learn of the sacrifices made
by our troops, some of them not
much older than themselves.
Sacrifices like those of the 162
soldiers who lost their lives in
Afghanistan," she said.
Canada sent 40,000 sol-
diers to Afghanistan, with
the first group leaving after
the terrorist attack in New
York on Sept. 11, 2001. The
war would cost the lives of
162 Canadians, 158 of them
members of the Canadian
Armed Forces.
Following almost $22 -billion
spent fighting the Taliban and
Al Qaeda, the Afghanistan mis-
sion, the nation's longest mili-
tary engagement in its history,
finally came to a close when
Canada's last troops returned
home in March of 2014.
However, four young men --
Cpl. Robert Mitchell of Owen
Sound, Cpl. Matthew Dinning
of Wmgham, Cpl. Brent Poland
of Lambton and Trooper Mark
Andrew Wilson of London --
would die in combat,
Their families attended
the ceremony, and Dow-
deswell said she wants to
show her support for all mili-
tary families. She recalled a
maxim once told to her that
while it is the children who
sign up to fight, the families
do not but they do serve and
do so with great distinction.
"With this monument
Huron County reminds all of
us to cherish the men and
women of our armed forces
who stand on guard for the
freedom and peace that we
are privileged and, in fact, we
take for granted today here in
this country. As the represent-
ative of the majesty the
Queen, I express my hope that
this community finds peace
and strength through this
majestic memorial."
She then presented each
of the four silver cross fami-
lies a piece of marble from
the Canadian cenotaph that
stood in the Canadian Task
Force Headquarters in Kan-
dahar Afghanistan.
The pedestal displaying a
plaque before the monument
also contains marble from the
cenotaph that was erected in
Afghanistan in 2006 and
repatriated to Canada in 2011.
This monument is part of
the largest program of its kind
in Canada's history, said
retired Maj -Gen. David Fraser,
who was the regional com-
mander for NATO's south
mission in Afghanistan and
on the selection committee
for the monument program.
He said the story of Cana-
da's involvement in Afghani-
stan is a "great Canadian
story" that needs to be told.
The LAV, he said, is not sim-
ply a monument or even a
vehicle soldiers drove, but it
represents Canada's industrial
capability to produce "the
best vehicle in the world."
CONTINUED > PAGE 19