WINNIPEG – A travelling memorial for Canada’s fallen soldiers is now in Winnipeg, honouring the 158 lives lost during combat in Afghanistan.
Piper Mackenzie Landry played at 18 ramp ceremonies, where caskets are loaded onto aircraft for the trip home, while deployed in 2007. “Its very emotional for me – just the sheer number of guys that I know on the granite panels,” Landry said Tuesday.
Five Manitoba names are engraved in the stones on display at the Manitoba Legislature: Sean Greenfield, Jim Arnal, Lane Watkins, Keith Morley, and Michael Seggie. It’s the same memorial that stood at Canada’s base in Kandahar until the military pulled out of Afghanistan.
Michael Seggie’s father, Jim, says he is proud of his son.
“As a dad, I’m proud of that. You know you try to do these things right you know and he turned out good,” Seggie said.
The memorial is on display at the Legislature until Saturday at 8p.m. A chance for Manitobans to share in the grief and pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“This was pretty powerful,overwhelming almost. It’s a testament to the fallen soldiers and to the families of the fallen soldiers,” Seggie added.
One of those visitors, Master Corporal Dwayne Hackimin, fought side by side in 2008 with many of the fallen soldiers. On Tuesday, he brought his family to the vigil, sharing in the loss.
“I think its pretty sweet. They had this stuff set up in Afghanistan so I have seen it, so its nice to bring it home and let families and Canadians check it out too,” Hackimin said.
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