Topic: Veterans Green, Waterloo

[RHFC_piper]

Today was the unveiling of a new statue at Waterloo's Veterans Green Memorial Parkette.

Here are some pictures.

Huge turn out for this one.  Here's the new memorial before the unveiling.


The statue itself depicts Canadian soldiers thoughout history, standing behind a Veteran in a wheel chair, who is placing a poppy.


The Artist, Timothy Schmalz, used pictures of local veterans (picture from the era they served) to sculpt the faces of the soldiers on the monument.


It is a fantastic and huge monument to, not only local, but all Canadian soldiers.


I was Honoured to be asked to play the lament at the ceremony (first time playing since I've had my pipes back).  I was also honoured to be included as a guest of honour along with local dignitaries; Local MPs and MPPs, Our honoured Veterans and Lt. Governer for Ontario; the Honourable James K. Bartleman.


There should be a press release sometime tomorow; I'll post a link here.

[spud]

Congratulatioins to a well deserved group of vets. Looks great, well done to all involved.

And a BZ to you Piper.

potato

[RHFC_piper]

Here are some more photos of the statue that I took today.


The Statue overall. Spectacular.


Left side. Note the detail.


Right side... again, amazing detail.


The Veteran, the WW1 Soldier and the Highlander.  The highlander is from the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, one of the founding regiments of the Royal highland Fusiliers of Canada.

More pics to come.

[Krypto]

Argh, I wanted to be there, but I had to work that day.

I could hear the walls rumbling and caught a glimpse of the Harvards flying by, and it tore me up to be stuck in that godforsaken hole.

I hate my job with a passion and hope it goes out of business (after I get into ROTP and quit of course)

Great photos, Piper! I see that memorial every day.

[proudnurse]

I did not get a chance to go to the unveiling, but my Father did! I am sitting here still trying to find him in these wonderful photo's. I did however get the opportunity, to go and see it on Nov 11th. We also took a drive and my Dad showed me the house that my Grandfather built after the war.

By the Veterans Green there is also "History" plaques and you can read about the neighbourhood and the families that grew up there......as we were looking at it both my Aunt and my Father, saw pictures of children that they grew up with and went to school with. I took a few pictures of my own and I would love to share one. I also got a picture of a yellow ribbon, at the Waterloo Cenetaph, with the wreaths behind.

~Rebecca~ <center>



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[RHFC_piper]

Yes, I read the warning... but I'm going to post here anyway. I don't want to start a new thread just 'cause of stupid people doing stupid things, but if the mods want to move this to it's own thread, go ahead.

Anyway, here it is;

[quote source=facebook group: Say NO to Anti-War Protests at Veteran's Green!]
   
On Saturday October 27, 2007 a group called "Anti-War @ Laurier" is planning an Anti-War protest. This group intends to hold this protest at Veteran's Green Park in Waterloo, ON which is also the site of the Canadian Veterans Memorial.

The Canadian Veterans Memorial was developed to pay tribute to the throusands of Canadian men and women who served, and countinue to serve our country, and before that our Commonwealth, so that we may live with the freedom we enjoy today.

Veterans Green is a place where people can assemble to reflect and pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for us to enjoy the freedoms we have today. Why take away from that and protest war? It's just not the right place!

We aren't saying no to protesting war, what we are saying is that THIS PARK, and the CANADIAN VETERANS MEMORIAL are not the place to do it!

Please don't let them take away from the significance of this memorial by having their protest there! Say no to protesting at the Veterans' Green!!!!!
[/quote]
Group Link

The source for this group and the info is very good, as she was involved in the original unveiling of the CVM (She's sitting next to me in the pictures)..

This is one of those things that make me believe some University faculty are so close minded and so locked into Anti-war political rhetoric that all they teach is ignorance.
Either that, or these students are just hypocritical idiots.  I hope they realize that the place they chose to hold their protest is dedicated to those who made their right to protest possible by giving their lives.

Anyway, it's not all bad news coming from the CVM;

On 04 NOV 07 at 0930h, there will be a memorial service held at the CVM in Veterans Green.  I've been asked to play the lament, and will be there.
 

[Scot57]

Thanks Piper .... my uncle is in one of those Pics (former CO and Honouray Colonel of your Unit).

[FascistLibertarian]

I find this intresting so I thought I would share. I do respect their right to protest, and march, and march to a verterans park. I do think that while they have this right it is in bad taste.
The below is there message (I havent responded yet). Its kind of a rant and reminds me of those anti-war quebecers.

To all those opposed to the Pan Canadian Day of Action Against the War in Afghanistan,

On October 27, there is going to be a rally to mark the Pan-Canadian Day of Action Against the War in Afghanistan. The KW march and rally are organized by a community activist group called Anti-War@Laurier (AW@L). We believe that the war in Afghanistan in unjust, immoral, misguided and inherently destructive; we believe that peace cannot exist at gunpoint.
This Saturday, we are going to be marching from the corner of Erb & Caroline to Veteran’s Green on University. We have chosen this location because we believe it is the most meaningful place that a statement about the unethical nature of this war in Afghanistan can be made. In fact, we believe strongly that the racist war in Afghanistan is what is desecrating the honour and memory of our veterans. Historically, Canadian forces have fought alongside our British allies against Nazism in WW2 and against rampant Nationalism in WW1. The soldiers who fought in those wars made the greatest sacrifices a young patriot could ever make: they all sacrificed a piece of their souls when they agreed to pick up arms to defend their Nation—a most noble sacrifice, and thousands upon thousands also sacrificed their lives; their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

At AW@L, we are somewhat shocked that so many people see our anti-war message as being a message of disrespect, and we apologize for this misunderstanding. Our message with regard to veterans is this: In order to preserve the honoured and exalted legacy of our veterans and armed forces, we must end the war in Afghanistan, we must cease to be involved in the racist American project of global military dominance, and we must return to our role as peacekeepers, not as occupiers. We will be holding a moment of silence at our rally to commemorate the sacrifices of our soldiers who have fought and died for our country, as well as for all victims of war.

And, while we believe that the war in Afghanistan is a war of occupation, we do not judge the soldiers as individuals in any negative light. We believe that the vast majority of our troops are in Afghanistan because they believe that the mission there is one for freedom, democracy and justice. But we also believe that they have been lied to and misled by the Canadian government and its military command. We believe that the only way we can truly support our troops is to bring them home, and to allow these fine young patriots to no longer be engaged in the occupation of a foreign country. The war in Afghanistan is no more legitimate than the war in Iraq, and both are equally a part of the American Empire project—American officials corroborate this position; it is only the Canadian government and the people that they have lied to who believe that the war in Afghanistan in inherently more just and moral than the war in Iraq.

It cannot be stressed enough that this rally is not a protest against our soldiers, past or present. It is a rally to draw attention to the fact that the War in Afghanistan does not fit into Canada’s conception of the role of our military. It seems that both AW@L and those who oppose the rally are both in favour of preserving the honour of our veterans. We believe that the best way to do that is to send a message that we refuse to allow our government to use the highly regarded reputation of our country, our military, and our soldiers and veterans to fight wars that are in the interest of American global dominance. It is not an anti-war demonstration that desecrates the honour of our veterans. Rather, it is unethical and racist wars that will taint the memory of their noble legacy.

AW@L, as a community group and as a chapter of the RAN (www.RAN.org) has formally committed itself to principles of nonviolence. We are sworn not engage in any acts of violence, and that definitely includes violence against property. As the organizers of this rally, we are formally sworn to uphold that nonviolent principle, and this means that we can make our solemnest promise that we will in no way cause or allow any vandalism whatsoever to occur at Saturday’s rally; we too wish to respect the sacredness of our veteran’s sacrifice, and of course, protecting the memorial that has been dedicated to them is part of that commitment.

We ask that all of those who have expressed opposition to the location of this rally consider our perspective, and we sincerely hope that you will join us in rallying for Canada to honour our veterans’ legacy by refusing to send soldiers to occupy other nations, that we support our troops by bringing them home, and that we get out of Afghanistan now, not in 2011. Stop the killing; make peace not war.

-Anti-War@Laurier (AW@L),
www.peaceculture.org, antiwar@peaceculture.org

Here is their rational for marching to the verterans green.

1. We have chosen veteran's green as a location for 3 primary reasons. First, the memorial that was placed at the green last year was explicityly designed to remind students that war is a foundational part of our past and an inevitable part of our history. WAR IS NOT INEVITABLE, IT IS A CHOICE. Second, The war memorial recognizes the sacrifices of canadian veterans, we want to express that WE MUST ALSO REMEMBER THE INNOCENT VICTIMS OF WAR, the civillians who are killed by our wars. And third, we want TO PRESERVE THE HONOUR OF OUR VETERANS. This war is afghanistan is an imperial war, not a peacekeeping mission. We dont want to have Afghanistan be the stain on Canada's militray history that Vietnam is for America. We want to be able to continue to honour our veterans who died in WW2 fighting nazism. But it is having our soldiers fighting oppressive and racist wars that desecrates the memory of our veterans. CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN. STOP THE KILLING.

facebook group
AW@L - AntiWar@Laurier

Cheers all, hope you found intrestings.