The Fallen Live on In Burgeo

Throughout the tour we have often spoken about fallen heroes, referring to the 157 soldiers, sailors and aircrew on the Portraits of Honour mural as figures of honour, examples of patriotism, and champions of the abused and oppressed.

Those depicted on the mural are all of these things, certainly, but they were also people just like you and I.

They have a past, illustrated clearly when medals and certificates and momentos belonging to Burgeo fallen, Sergeant Vaughn Ingram, were displayed and explained to a crowd gathered at a fundraising dinner in support of the Portraits of Honour. Looking at physical pieces of the young man’s military history, and speaking with his family, one began to get a true sense of the type of person he had been in life. 

And despite the fact they are no longer with us physically, in Burgeo it  became clear that Sergeant Ingram and his comrades have a present as well as a past. Hundreds of residents helped to create a parade more than two kilometers long through the town to honour their memory. With so much love, support and energy pouring forth, it was impossible to believe that Sergeant Ingram’s spirit does not live on in those who knew him well, as the memory of so many others have in the communities we have visited across the nation.

It seems that heroes like Vaughn even have a future. As part of the Portraits of Honour tour stop in Burgeo, a ceremony was held dedicating a park to Sergeant Ingram. A sign stands outside the park features a large picture of Ingram so that all who visit the park will see the young man who like them played in the parks of thier commmunity and went on to do great things. In this way, this fallen friend lives on.