Welcome Home to Cambridge

In late May of this year when the Portraits of Honour team met for the first time we looked at the schedule and wondered how are we going to pull this off? Seven months, one hundred and sixteen stops and over forty thousand kilometers later this historical odyssey came full circle. The tour kicked off with the Celebrate Me Home launching in Kitchener, Ontario on May 28th with Governor General David Johnston in attendance.

The city of Cambridge, its citizens and the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Preston welcomed home its prodigal son, artist Dave Sopha and the POH team. Approximately 150 people attended a reception ceremony inside at the Maple Grove Fleet Centre garage. Heart felt praise came from the likes of MPP for Cambridge-North Dumfries Rob Leone, Mayor Doug Craig and Cambridge-North Dumfries MP and the Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear.

Goodyear said, “Mr. Sopha’s mobile monument, celebrated by Canadians from sea, to sea, to sea, was made possible because of an unwavering dedication and patriotism for our country’s troops. Today his Portraits of Honour is a celebrated national treasure, a gift to our nation.”

At that evening’s fund raising gala held at Branch 126 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Sopha was regaled with more accolades this time from Kin Canada Executive Director Ric McDonald and National Project Manager Bruce Lloyd.

Lloyd paid homage for the supporters behind the scenes especially Dave’s wife Penny and their entire family. Behind every good man there is a woman. For three years Penny only saw the back of her husband leaving for the studio at Kin headquarters early in the morning for up to sixteen hour days, returning home late at night to a warmed up meal. Her unwavering support and the ultimate sacrifice she made goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Dave’s four children, 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild also deserve praise for their understanding of what their father was doing. Missing birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions was in all intents and purposes a labour of love and obsession. They endured and persevered.

Over the course of the tour Dave received a plethora of thanks too numerous to count. Well, here are just a few more.

Thank you for your vision, dedication and a heart of gold. You have unified Canadians from all walks of life. You awoke a country and put R-E-S-P-EC-T back into our military again. You have provided an avenue for the fallen soldier’s families and all Canadians to heal, memorialize and always remember their ultimate sacrifice. This mural as Gary Goodyear said is a national treasure. Its value is priceless and is also a grim reminder that the cost of freedom is not free. It comes with a cost. One hundred and fifty-eight young soldiers, sailors and aircrew paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Thank you for the once in a lifetime opportunity to see this great country and to meet the thousands of citizens whose diversity, uniqueness and distinctness makes up the fabric of Canada. We have experienced the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Calgary, Prime Minister Steven Harper, the repatriation of Bombardier Karl Manning in Trenton, meeting Chief of the Defense Staff General Walt Natynczyk, Retired General Rick Hillier, Retired Major General Lewis MacKenzie, Defense Minister Peter McKay and Veterans Affairs Minister Stephen Blaney.

You allowed us to meet a number of the families and to share their tears, fears and stories about their loved ones. Hopefully our team made a difference for them in the healing process and to spread the message about respect for our armed forces.

From this writer’s perspective that made the entire journey, it was one helluva ride. You don’t realize how expansive this country is until you climb the wheel of a vehicle and drive from coast to coast to coast with a ragtag group of individuals who gelled together to perform each day to the best of his/her ability.

A big debt of gratitude goes to the Kinsmen, Kinette and Kin clubs plus other organizations who provided venues for POH to attend. Without the hard work from these committees the painting would have had no place to show. Your hospitality shown to us we can never repay.

For the Portraits of Honour, the best is yet to come.

Fulfilling Dreams in Fergus

The second last stop on this amazing cross Canada legacy was in the town of Fergus, Ontario headquarters of the Portraits of Honour and home of National Project Manager Bruce Lloyd.

Following a brief Remembrance ceremony the mural was unveiled. Despite the chilly temperatures the townspeople and school children took the time to view, stop and remember the lifelike images of the 157 of 158 fallen soldiers, sailors and aircrew that died in Afghanistan.

In the evening a fund raising gala was staged at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 275. Among the speakers were the Mayor of Centre Wellington Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj, Kin Canada National President Dave Ronson, Silver Cross Mother Bev McCaw and Artist Dave Sopha.

Entertainment following a delicious farmer’s meal was provided by singer/songwriter and motivational speaker Terry Kelly. Terry has been blind since birth and overcame this obstacle to become an accomplished paralympic athlete and a consummate entertainer.

His message through music and dialogue is the “Power of the Dream.” He says anyone can dream and fulfill their lifelong goals. Along the way there maybe obstacles which he calls “dream adjustments.” He gives the example of an OPP officer who was shot in the face in the line of duty causing blindness. People told him he would never work again in law enforcement. Taking this as a challenge he studied criminology. Today that officer still loves his job in uniform teaching criminology.

That analogy happens with our troops coming home from Afghanistan. After healing, the wounded who have returned home with physical injuries such as losing a limb or an eye can return to duty in another capacity contributing in a non battle position but still live the dream of being involved with the armed forces. The ability to overcome a disability and celebrate it with enthusiasm makes you a stronger, healthier person.

Terry also spoke about living on a farm on weekends while attending the School for the Blind in Halifax, Nova Scotia when he was seven. Ten students were taken in by a farmer, his wife and their eight children. The farmer spoke to them about the five laws of the farm. One of these is planting the seeds. Each spring the fields are sowed with the season’s crops and harvested in the fall. In life we do the same. We can plant the seeds of positive thinking or negativity that the world around us throws at us on a daily basis.

Our involvement in Afghanistan since 2001 has been slowly planting the seed of self sufficiency
to a civilization that has been stagnant and deprived of nurturing by an enemy who wears no uniform. The fallen men and women featured on the mural in their own way sowed a seed in that war torn nation in hopes of making a difference. We here at home can reap these rewards by observing Canada Day and Remembrance Day everyday. They did not die in vain for their efforts.

The highlight of the night was the surprise presentation of the Hal Rogers Fellow Award to Terry Kelly by Diane Rogers, daughter of Kin Canada founder Hal Rogers. HRF recognizes individual Kin, alumni and non-Kin who by their leadership accomplishments and community endeavours, have demonstrated high ideals to which Founder Hal was committed. Terry is a staunch supporter of our military and has performed for our troops in Khandahar.

This special man who has touched so many lives with his music and inspiration joins POH artist Dave Sopha, Celine Dion, Wayne Gretzky, Major-General (ret’d) Lewis MacKenzie, and General (ret’d) Rick Hillier as recipients of the highest award to be given by Kin Canada in 2011.

Congratulations and well deserved.

Shining in Shilo

The Portraits of Honour had the privilege of celebrating St. Barbara – Patron saint of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at CFB/ASU Shilo, Manitoba. St. Barbara’s Day is celebrated every December 4th.

According to legend she was the daughter of a wealthy man named Disocorus who feared a man would ask for her hand in marriage. In a fit of jealousy he locked her away in a tower. Before leaving on a journey he built a bath house.

During St. Barbara’s imprisonment she had heard about Chrsitian teachings and spent time contemplating them. From her window she marveled at the world and decided that everything was part of God’s master plan. She declared the idols worshipped by her parents were false. She directed the builders to redesign the bath house by installing a third window to symbolize the Holy Trinity and a cross in the marble of the bath. Upon her father’s return he was so enraged with the religious significance of the changes drew his sword to kill his daughter.

St. Barbara fell to her knees in prayer and was miraculously transported to a mountain where she was discovered by a shepherd who betrayed her to Dioscorus. After being dragged before the prefect of the province he decreed she be tortured and beheaded. Dioscorus carried out the death sentence and was then struck by lightning and consumed utterly.

Saint Barbara died about the year 300 A.D. The place of her martyrdom is variously given as Heliopolis in Egypt and Nicomedia in Asia Minor. The legend of the lightning bolt striking down her persecutor caused her to be regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms and sudden death.

When gunpowder appeared, St. Barbara was invoked for aid against explosions, since early artillery pieces blew up instead of firing. She is also heralded as the patroness of the engineers, armourers, gunsmiths and miners.

CFB Shilo has been the site of military activity in the region dating back to 1910. The base has seen its share of soldiers give the ultimate sacrifice in many world conflicts. Twenty such brave souls who trained here died in Afghanistan. The local Kinsmen and Kinettes immortalized that service by displaying wooden plaques with Canadian flags at the front of the stage area as a token of their appreciation.

During the public viewing hours of the mural depicting the 157 of 158 fallen comrades in Afghanistan, two sentinels proudly volunteered to guard each end of the trailer. This ceremony is performed every 15 minutes. The many visitors to the indoor venue stop and watch this age old tradition of standing in complete motionless position in awe.

The motto at CFB Shilo is AD OMNIA PARATUS – Ready for Anything. That symbolizes our entire armed forces. When the call for help is from either here at home or abroad our dedicated military personnel take up the cause and prepare for the unexpected. They are on call 24-7, 365 days of the year. We should be proud we have the finest and best trained military force the world has to offer. They are ready for anything. Any time. Any place.

Happy St. Barbara’s Day CFB Shilo from everyone at Portraits of Honour.