A group of volunteers spent part of their Canada Day travelling to Toronto Road in Port Hope where they gathered to pay their respect to Port Hope resident, Silver Cross Mother, Anna Loveman and to clean a stretch of the Highway of Heroes that is dedicated to her son, Craftsman Kyle Sinclair.
A serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces, a Veteran and Civilian Kerri Tadeu adopted the entire 344 km (172 East and 172 km West) of the Highway of Heroes in Memory of Grafton’s Major Michelle Knight Mendes “Honouring All That Gave Some and Some That Gave All” in the Spring of 2017, cleaning the Highway of Heroes twice a year with the Veteran Community. The last couple of years, Loveman, Rob Baird, a First Responder and Kerri Tadeu have been organizing the annual Spring and Falls Cleans for the Veteran Community (Military, Veterans, First Responders, Families of the Fallen and people who care about them).
Loveman is a well-respected member of the Highway of Heroes Volunteer Family having travelled great distances with the Veteran Community cleaning the sacred stretch of Canadian soil where 158 Fallen Soldiers and four civilians were repatriated home from the Afghanistan War. Tadeu worked with the Ministry of Transportation over a number of months to adopt the on and off ramps at Toronto Road in Port Hope to acknowledge Sinclair’s service and sacrifice.
Sinclair’s preventable death transpired while he was working alone inside a Coyote armored vehicle at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014.
Joining Loveman on Canada Day to pick up trash along the on and off-ramps on Toronto Road were Silver Cross Mother Valerie McGrady – Mother of Corporal Matthew McCully and Silver Cross Mother Kathleen Smith – Mother of Private Demetrios Diplaros (the 55th and 100th soldiers to fall in Afghanistan and carried down the Highway of Heroes). There were also a number of current serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans and First Responders who worked in shifts to pick up trash that motorists carelessly toss out the window.
Many of the volunteers celebrated this special Canada Day bearing gifts for each other that included gorgeous home-made patriotic masks, Canadian flags in all shapes and sizes, home-made paracords, refreshments and snacks. Every Spring and Fall Clean, Loveman crochets a blanket for a volunteer in memory of her son and a beautiful presentation took place in which Karen Smith received this special gift.
Cobourg Resident aka,” The Highway of Heroes Earth Angel”, Lorna Dickson and her co-worker Tracey Hudgin McBride presented a cheque from their United Steel Workers of America Local 889 for Project Trauma Support to continue their personal mission under the Highway of Heroes Adoption of supporting Military Members, Veteran and First Responders to receive Mental Health Treatment at Project Trauma Support in Perth Ontario. A Military Member, a Veteran and a First Responder cleaning today had received life-saving treatment at Project Trauma Support last year and endless words of thanks were shared from these individuals to Dickson and Hudgin McBride for their supportive efforts.
Kerri Tadeu shared with Today’s Northumberland, “today was a very special day. It’s the Highway of Heroes volunteers made of military members, veterans and first responders, Families of the fallen and people that care about them that make every gathering on this sacred stretch of Canadian soil so very special. Today being Canada Day it was an honour to spend the day with these proud individuals that signed up to protect and defend Canada and our way of life.”
Tadeu has always said, the Highway of Heroes adoption is rooted 95% in mental health and 5% in garbage collection despite the large amount of garage that we pick up on the Highway of Heroes.
“It’s an amazing feeling to watch the Highway of Heroes Family grow.”
One common denominator in the Highway of Heroes volunteers is they have a devotion to duty and they believe in service (to Canada and their community) before self.”
“Without a doubt we live in the greatest country in the world and I am fortunate to spend my time with people that have made the sacrifices to make our way of life safe and comfortable,” said Tadeu.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
