Brief but Beautiful Stop in Badger

Despite the support that the Portraits of Honour National Tour has received, those behind the scenes sometimes wonder if the impact that this project had made across the nation is as powerful as it seems to those directly involved.

That question was answered many times over with the Portraits of Honour tour stop in Badger, Nfld.

Originally planned as a quick stop to simply allow the Artist, Dave Sopha to meet the family of local fallen hero, Captain Frank Paul, it quickly became a full tour stop when the citizens of the town heard that the tour would be passing through.

Rallying together to raise funds and bring all of the students in the small community out to see the mural, they quickly convinced the operations staff on the tour to extend our stay in Badger with the overwhelming passion they showed for the project.

The children of the community sang O’ Canada alongside their teachers and parents, and proudly made donations they had collected within their schools.

The family of Captain Frank Paul, spent several quiet moments on stage with the artist, and thanked the tour team whole-heartedly for bringing the mural to their town.

The most moving moment of all, though, came as the students departed back to class. Before leaving, each of the children took the time to shake the hand of the dozen or so soldiers who had gathered near the mural. It was such a moment of validation to see, in that simple action, that the message of respect and honour for our troops that Portraits of Honour represents is truly making an impact.