The #MakeFrederictonFirst campaign ended its push to be the first community granted a Light Armoured Vehicle III memorial, drawing more than 200 soldiers, veterans and civilians to a gala at the Regent Mall Cineplex Thursday night.
The memorials will be the first in Canada made of decommissioned Afghanistan War equipment. André Pelletier was one of a few veterans at the gala wearing leather “Veterans UN and NATO Canada” vests decorated with patches, including one reading “new generation of veterans.”
“We have to remember the old, but we have to respect the new at the same time, and find a common ground and bridge the two together,” he said.
Pelletier served in Dubai, the allies’ access point to Afghanistan for much of the war, in a non-combat role that included serving as a pall bearer. A dozen plain metal crosses are pinned to the front of his vest, one for each dead soldier he helped send home.
Some, including NDP defence critic Jack Harris, warn it may be too soon for a tribute to the Afghan war, especially given the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pelletier, who does not have PTSD, says it’s possible the monument could trigger symptoms in some, but LAVs were usually a friendly and familiar site for Canadian troops.
“When you come back to your LAV, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve made it. I’m done. I’ll be okay.’ It’s a goal,” he said
“Usually they would have air conditioning, and they would put water bottles into the ducts so when the boys came back, the water bottles would be nice and cold. It was a home for people.”
Fourth-year St. Thomas University student Jon Munn was brought into the campaign through a communications internship with Fredericton West-Hanwell MLA Brian Macdonald, who initially organized the push when the monuments were announced in November.
“The [LAV’s] were pretty much the centre-stone when you think of the images of the Afghan war,”said Munn. “Whenever the Canadians were deployed we would see on the news almost every time you would see a LAV with the soldiers. This was the soldiers home when they were away.”
Munn helped organize and emcee the gala that featured a red carpet entry and photo opportunity, local craft beer, a traditional dance performance and an LAV parked out front.
The memorials will be made of the hulls of LAV IIIs which will be discarded in a round of upgrades to Canada’s main infantry vehicle.
The location of the memorial, should the Fredericton region get it, is undetermined, but many said it would likely go to Oromocto, likely at the cenotaph.
“To have the LAV memorial would mean a lot to not only the veterans that served in Afghanistan, but as well it would mean a lot to the Oromocto community and Gagetown,” said Munn.
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Giroux is the deputy base commander at CFB Gagetown. He said placing the memorial at the Oromocto Cenotaph would help keep Canada’s collective heritage from separating the war in Afghanistan from other, more celebrated conflicts.
“It would be an important monument for those who served in the LAV to remember what they went through in the vehicle, and, for sure, they will mean different things for different people,” he said. “But war memorials [like] the National War Memorial in Ottawa or the cenotaph, those have a greater or different significance.”
Correction: The original story incorrectly stated that more than 80 people attended the gala. In fact, more than 200 people attended. We apologize for the error.
