The Portraits of Honour caravan arrived here under police escort on June 3 for a full day of events honoring the 156 Canadian soldiers who gave their lives in the Afghanistan war.
Cambridge-based artist Dave Sopha worked on the 10- by 50-foot mural featuring the faces of Canada’s fallen war heroes for the past two years, before teaming up with Kin Canada to take the mural on a cross-country tour with stops in about 100 communities, including a stopover for Remembrance Day in the nation’s capital.
“[The tour] is a celebration of the men and women of the Armed Forces,” Sopha said. “My father was a veteran, my grandfathers were veterans from World War I; it means a lot to me.”
Kin Canada is the major sponsor of the tour, along with Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs throughout the country. It is designed as a fundraiser to assist Canadian soldiers coming home from the conflict and families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and also to remember and honor those who have died.
Mount Forest was the fourth stop for the tour, which kicked off May 29 at a packed Kitchener Auditorium.
Sopha said the early stopovers in the six-month tour have been emotional for him, particularly when the May 31 visit to CFB Trenton coincided with the repatriation of Bombardier Karl Manning, Canada’s 156th casualty.
“Hopefully Karl will be the last one,” Sopha said before the mural was officially unveiled at the Mount Forest Sports Complex.
Sopha uses photographs and has received advice from family members to make each face a true depiction of the soldier. The artist has a drawing of Bombardier Manning which he will use to paint the soldier’s face on the mural as the tour moves on.
Each face takes about 80 hours to complete and Sopha has spent some 6,500 hours on the mural. He is also hoping to meet many families of war casualties during the tour in a bid to talk to them about their loved ones and the lives they lived.
“Until every man and woman comes home, I’m going to keep painting,” Sopha said.
He has been impressed with the support the Portraits of Honour tour has garnered in the early going, including Mount Forest, where a fundraising dinner was followed by keynote speeches about what Canadian soldiers experience in the Afghan conflict.
He’s encouraged by the interest shown by people, particularly young people, in what is happening in Afghanistan and the need for Canadian soldiers to be involved in rebuilding the country.
Mount Forest Kin member Gord Trecartin is one of three directors of the Portraits of Honour National Tour project for Kin Canada. Along with a group of volunteers, he spent much of Friday ensuring the events went off successfully.
The artist and Kin Canada are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Military Family Fund.
“You’ve got soldiers whose buddy is blown up right beside him; it’s traumatic,” Trecartin said of the impact the war has on returning soldiers.
“Our goal as Kinsmen and Kin Canada …is to let Canadians know these men and women are doing their job.”
Trecartin expects the Mount Forest event will raise several thousand dollars in donations and tour sponsorships.
“We’ve had no problem raising money,” he said.
Despite a lower attendance at the evening event and dinner put on by Mount Forest Minor Hockey, Trecartin said the mural viewing during the day was “well attended.”
Speakers at the dinner included Master Warrant Officer Christopher Pauliw who recently returned from the conflict; Lin Dinning, father of Corporal Mathew James Dinning; Tina Smith, mother of Sergeant Kirk Garret Taylor; and Lisa Lindsay, mother of injured soldier Corporal Michael Flood.
A last minute addition to the guest list was Captain Elisa Holland, who accompanied the body of Sgt. Taylor during his repatriation from Afghanistan to Canada.
“It was compelling,” Trecartin said of the speeches.
Sopha said he has spoken with an Afghan interpreter about the impact Canadian soldiers are having in his country.
“He said Canadians have made our home safer,” Sopha added.
