June 7: Meaford, ON: A Day in the Life

A steady stream of visitors came to honour and celebrate the fallen sailors, soldiers and aircrew depicted on the Portraits of Honour when the National Tour visited Meaford today.  Those who viewed the mural were moved, often to tears, when thinking about the many young men and women who had perished.  A number of those depicted on the mural had trained in the area, and locals spoke warmly of those they had known.

Today’s stop also gave the Portraits of Honour Team a small taste of what it’s like to be a troop in Afghanistan as local military who had served in the conflict told stories of their tours, even dressing our Tour Supervisor in patrol gear to demonstrate it’s significant weight and heat in the midday sun.

Lastly, a military chaplain spoke of the many young men and women on the mural that he had either personally known, or buried. He spoke of telling the families of these brave young men and women that they would not be coming home, yet he also spoke of who they had been in life.

Today in Meaford, it certainly became clear that all those who serve in Afghanistan,  or wait at home for a loved one who may never return, or help survivors with their guilt and grief, deserve our utmost thanks and respect for doing what many of us simply could not do.