Highway of Heroes-The people say Thank You!

I recently received a great powerpoint presentation showing how we as Canadians have made the Highway of Heroes an important element in our honouring and paying tribute to our fallen soldiers.  The average Canadian was not fully aware of the sacrifices that our military have made until Afghanistan.  The governments of the day had no use for a military but time and circumstances proved this neglect to be horribly wrong.  I served in the RCHA in the early 70’s and it was a joke, we had a regimental strength of around 176 men when it should have been over 1,100 yet we had the same roles and responsibilities of a full regiment.  We were part of the A.C.E. Mobile Force for Norway and also member of the C.A.S.T. Combat Group which was responsible for re-enforcing ACE.  In other words, we were supposedly replacing ourselves which would have been  a bit difficult since we’d have been dead or wounded to require re-enforcement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afghanistan has brought respectability for the Canadian Military and a sense of pride for the people of Canada.  It was public pressure that brought about the designation of the stretch of Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto to be known as the Highway of Heroes.  For it is along that path that our fallen are repatriated to Canada and transported to the Ontario Coroner prior to being returning the remains to the families.  The people have spoken and speak everytime we lose a combatant.  As of today we have lost 116 service personnel both men and women.  We honour their ultimate sacrifice and pay tribute to the family members who have lost their loved ones.

Members of Fire Station 44 in Barrhaven salute returning fallen soldier Cpl. Kenneth Chad O'Quinn on the Fallowfield-Strandherd Bridge just outside of Barrhaven, Wednesday, March 25, 2009. Viewer photo submitted by: Kellie Jennifer Adams

Ottawa is home to the National Military Cemetery at Beechwood and many families are choosing to bury their fallen loved ones there.  It is a beautiful place for a cemetery.  Now the Ottawa Fire Department has chosen to follow the lead of the Highway of Heroes and they provide firefighters and police officers along 12 overpasses of  Highway 416 and 417 on the route to Beechwood where the soldier will be interred.  District Chief Dave Capstick said firefighters will make the effort to show the respect and solidarity they deserve. 

The U.S. has adopted a similar policy to Canada’s on repatriation and finally make it possible to show the flag draped coffins if the families allow it.  That gives the ordinary people the opportunity to sit up, take notice and show their apprciation and sorry for the fallen.  A recent movie on HBO called “Taking Chance” is based upon  A personal narrative by Lieutenant Colonel Michael R. Strobl (you can read his story here). 

The Highway of Heroes and the actions encountered by LCol Strobl show that the people understand and want to honour the fallen who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lest We Forget

Fox Program Red Eye – The Ugliest Americans

Canada has just suffered the loss of 4 more soldiers in Afghanistan and they will be repatirated today and travel the Highway of Heros.  So we now have to put up with ugly stupid Americans who have demonstrated why they are hated around the world.  The Fox program Red Eye chose to mock Canada’s efforts in Afghanistan not even knowing that we have been there from the beginning of this mission.  We are one of the few countries that answered the call for combat troops who would engage in combat and these idiot Americans have no understanding of their neighbour to the north.  They have no concept of the importance that Canada is to the success and prosperity of America.  After 7 years of conflict, most of the equipment is wearing out, um, I seem to remember reading about the US having equipment problems having a large percentage of its equipment worn out sitting awaiting action in Iraq.

See for yourself:

In this video, these people demonstrate how narrow minded and ill-informed they are about anything outside their borders.  They represent the last 8 years where America damaged its standing in the world.  No longer could America legitimately claim that they believe in freedom, liberty and integrity.  They set up the Guantánamo Bay detention where they were sheltered from their own laws and conducted torture and numerous human rights violations.   There was no due process – so much for the fair minded America.

The current world financial crisis can be laid at the feet of greedy people who ignored what few rules there were and managed to bring down the worlds economies. 

We can hope that theirs is a radical minority viewpoint.  If it is mainstream then America will have to continue to bully the worlds countries and use military force to impose its will.  We all know this works, just look at Iraq.

Their comments are disgusting and they would call for an invasion should someone else say things like that about America, oh wait they did call for an invasion of Canada and those silly Canadians.