Families on hand as Afghanistan Memorial Vigil comes to Edmonton
The original memorial plaques from the Kandahar Airfield cenotaph honouring the Canadians killed during the military mission in Afghanistan are in Edmonton this week.
Families of some of the fallen soldiers took part in a commemoration ceremony and private viewing of the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil at Edmonton city hall on Monday.
Sgt. Shawn Eades is one of the 201 soldiers, diplomats and civilians who died in Afghanistan.
His widow, Lisa Schamehorn-Eades, says the public needs to see the losses sustained by Canada during the mission.
“Here you are actually seeing the soldier that has sacrificed his life for our country,” she said.
Sherry Clarke, whose son Pte. Joel Wiebe died in 2007, saw the plaques in their original home at the Kandahar Airfield five years ago.
“It was built by soldiers, and when I was on the next-of-kin trip in December of 2009, that was a sacred place for us, it was very healing to be able to go and see the memorial there and now that it has come home, it's just great. “
The memorial is travelling to Washington D.C. and 20 cities across Canada before going on permanent display in Ottawa.
The public can view the memorial at Edmonton city hall until Friday.
