Afghanistan Veterans remembered in Shelburne

September 24, 2014 · 0 Comments

Sunday, September 21st marked a very special and important event where Afghanistan Veterans were commemorated, celebrated and honored as Shelburne unveiled the additional inscription on the Memorial Stone located in front of Shelburne’s Town Hall along side the Town Cenotaph, which now respectfully includes our Afghanistan Veteran Peacekeepers.
Reverend Gord Horsley, Master of Ceremonies, a much relied upon and valued Reverend felt the event most profoundly.
Perhaps Shelburne’s Mayor Ed Crewson summed up the occasion best with his realistic, forthcoming and candid account of the Afghanistan War and what it really means to those of us so cruelly parted from those who fell,explaining the importance of remembering those who payed the ultimate cost, noting dead or alive, there is always a cost to war even among st all the good that can be accomplished.
Mayor Ed Crewson vividly recounted, “On that October day in 2001 when President George Bush announced that Canadian Armed Forces would be joining the US led coalition in the invasion of Afghanistan, I remember it was a sunny day and I was at my mother’s house painting her porch.
After the shock of September 11, the ensuing fear and turmoil seemed far removed from the peaceful life of our quiet town. Suddenly we were launched into the horror of war, a war that would ultimately last longer than any other conflict Canadians had yet endured.
More than 39,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan or in support of the mission from other locations around the world. Looking back on the accomplishments of our presence in Afghanistan, Canadians can be very proud of the achievements made by our military.
They helped create a better trained, better educated and more professional Afghan National Security Force.
The helped improve access to education with school attendance increasing 8 fold since 2001 and nearly 40% more Afghanistan girls attending school.
They helped improve health care with maternal mortality decreasing by about 2/3’s over the past 10 years.
They helped improve infrastructure, roads and irrigation systems.
They improved the skills development and job creation opportunities in Afghanistan, leading to improved economic growth.
The price for these improvements in Afghanistan as measured in Canadian lives has been 138 deaths.
Since their return from Afghanistan another 160 members of our armed forces have committed suicide.
My father was a veteran of the Second World War and although his time as a soldier in Italy, France, Holland and Germany inspired great pride in him, I also recall the cost it imposed upon him for the rest of his life.
Sudden, unexpected, loud noises would cause him to immediately drop to the floor.
And although my Dad usually maintained a jovial demeanor, the nightmares of war were with him until his death.
Post traumatic stress disorder had not yet been diagnosed but my Dad displayed some of the symptoms.
Many of the Canadian men and women who served in Afghanistan and survived, will be permanently affected by their wartime experience.
Today we honour all who served Canada in Afghanistan and recognize the awful price that they have paid.
We honour too the families who have lost loved ones in that conflict.
My meager words cannot begin to adequately pay tribute to their sacrifice nor can they assuage the pain they suffer.
All I can say is thank you, for making our world a better, safer place,” Mayor Ed Crewson.
During the ceremony, veterans lined up to place red maple leaf pins upon a regal white flower display and Passed President of the Legion 220 Branch, Liz Whitten explained, “Of all the soldiers that were sent, we lost 158 soldiers in Afghanistan. They all travelled on the Highway of Heroes and were draped with the Canada Flag. White flowers represent the white of the Canada Flag and the Maple Leaf pins, our Veterans. Out of the 14 soldiers in Dufferin County sent to Afghanistan, one didn’t return to us, Corporal Matthew McCully, who passed May, 2007, the 155th soldier. He was 25 years old.”

By Alex Sher

Photos by Alex Sher
Special moments of Shelburne honoring our Afghanistan Veterans captured on September 21, 2014 at the Town’s Cenotaph prominently situated at Shelburne’s Town Hall. The march to the Cenotaph lead by the 164 Squadron Air Cadets Honour Guard joined by the Legionnaire’s Colour Guard party, Shelburne as Veterans of the Legion 220 Branch, Shelburne’s Mayor, Shelburne’s own Councillor’s, MP David Tilson, and MPP Sylvia Jones was a somber and serious event marking the unveiling of the memorial stone at Town Hall where Afghanistan Peacekeepers are now acknowledged, remembered, never to be forgotten.

MP David Tilson commented, “I was honoured to be asked to take part in this ceremony. It’s to the Shelburne Legion’s great credit that they have chosen to honour the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who served in Afghanistan. We owe it to those who served. Thank you for inviting me be apart of this moving ceremony.”

MPP Sylvia Jones commented, “It’s a great honor to join the Branch 220 and I thank you for inviting me and for continuing honor and tradition when thinking of our Afghanistan Veterans.”