On November 11, 2011 the last Canadian Remembrance Day
Ceremony was held at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in Afghanistan. The former Minister of National Defence, the
Honourable Peter MacKay, and Lieutenant-General (LGen) Jonathan Vance were
present for this historic event with the Minister reading off the names of the
fallen and LGen Vance placing a poppy on each of the designated plaques. On November 12, 2011, the KAF Monument began
to be dismantled for return to Canada and at that time LGen Vance removed all
the poppies from the monument and placed them in the care of WO Renay Groves.
WO
Groves took the lead on what became the
“Bringing the Poppy Home Project”, and along with Sgt Huizinga, formed a
memorial team, primarily consisting of soldiers from 21 Electronic Warfare
Regiment (21 EW Regt), and developed a concept of operations for the project.
The project team identified several key criteria for
the memorial including mobility, universality and longevity. LGen Vance was engaged to seek assistance in
generating resources for the project build.
Through this assistance, the Poppy Project Team was able to engage 202
Workshop Depot (WKSP) in Montreal to acquire materials from battle-damaged
vehicles. The final design was a joint
collaboration and consists of several mobile pieces forming a memorial with a
maple leaf shaped spire and a base covered with bronzed poppies.
OUR VISION
The base is a trapezoid made of aluminum to support
the memorial as a whole. Attached to this is a road-wheel from a battle-damaged
Leopard tank.
The intermediate portion of the memorial consists of
the engine vents (louvres) from the same tank constructed to form a circle
supporting the upper portion of the memorial. At the top of the vents there
will be a brass band (one piece) with all of the names of the fallen soldiers
engraved on it. Resting on top of this will be a battle-damaged hatch from a
TLAV. The circular configuration signifies the role of our soldiers in
protecting and surrounding our nation.
The poppies (after bronzing and painting) will be
attached to the road wheel, engine vents and hatch, symbolizing the ongoing
support our soldiers give to our country, even unto the ultimate sacrifice.
They will be mounted in a pseudo-random fashion, in such a way as to represent
the randomness of each event and the randomness of death in war. The only
stipulation is that no one poppy is completely covered by the rest. Also, this
represents how no single sacrifice is greater than another.
The Maple Leaf itself will be mounted to a
bearing/pintle system to allow it to rotate as needed. The Leaf has been cut
from the back deck of the battle-damaged tank. The Leaf will be painted by a
member of the Poppy Team to closely resemble an actual maple leaf while
maintaining its original integrity and visible battle damage. This will allow
the Maple Leaf to stand on its own as a symbol of our nation.
The intent is for the Poppy Project Team to continue
on after fabrication is complete in the role of the Poppy Memorial
Transport/Security Team. This would allow them to travel with the Poppy
Memorial and be best able to engage our soldiers and their families on a
personal level.
