This is the write up that was done at the end of the summer for the WoundedWarriors.ca website.
This project started out as a way for our family to honour
the men and women whose names appear on the dog tags that we knew, as well as
those whom we didn't know. We set out
with a goal to raise $5000. Over the
course of the summer, it has turned into so much more than a fundraiser for
Wounded Warriors. The people we have met
have touched our hearts and our lives.
We have had the pleasure of talking, laughing and crying
with so many amazing and inspiring people from around the world, with only the
connection of duty and honour. The only
way to explain the experience is to tell you a few of the stories (sorry that I
can't mention everything, there's too many!)...
On Father's Day we were at a huge car show in Qualicum
Beach, one of our first. I saw a big,
burly man with a leather vest come up to the car, take his sunglasses off and
have a moment. He was a veteran of the
Bosnia conflict. With tears in his eyes,
he gave Brett a big hug and said thank you for doing what we were doing.
After a few shows, we wanted a way to include others in our
project so, on Canada Day we added the first of many signatures to the
car. Brett and I were two of the first
but there have been so many added that we will never forget. Brett was talking to an older man in Hope on
Canada Day who mentioned that he had served in the forces, he was asked if he
wanted to sign the car, he smiled and said he would love to... That man was a Korean War vet who served with
2PPCLI at the battle of Kapyong, we were deeply humbled. We were able to point a few people in the
right direction to find the help they needed.
At Comox Nautical Days we were
greeted by someone who had only returned from Afghanistan 3 days prior with a
huge smile and a comment about parking a LAV.
Brett had the chance to re-connect with some army buddies that he hadn't
seen for years. We also met Lisa
McLennan Stackwood who started Horses for Heroes and her husband Liam Stackwood
who has done so much. Brett was chatting
with someone who asked a whole lot of questions, by now we had learned that a
certain series of questions meant media, she was from Army News out of Edmonton
at home visiting her family. We also had
a veteran of the Queen's Own Rifles stop by, who knew my late grandfather when
he was the Lt. Col of the regiment, it was nice to know that he was memorable
to people other than my family! Steve
“ELVIS” Elliott stopped by in his US Army uniform to sign the car. I wanted to also mention that while we were
standing in the sun at the car show, our kids (with some help) put up a
lemonade/popcorn stand and raised a whopping $36 for the charity!
We were at the Abbotsford
International Airshow for all 3 days. We
had US service members come and say that they were happy to see the car and “it
was about time we see this from a Canadian!”
We had the pleasure of meeting a 101st Airborne mother who's
son was one of the soldiers featured in the movie Restrepo. She was volunteering that weekend but had
tears come to her eyes every day when she came to say hi. We met Rebecca Carter, a friend of Terry
Street, who was touched to see our tribute, she came back to sign the car and
get some t-shirts! I've gotta say that
the coolest part of that weekend was when the entire SkyHawks jump team came
walking down the strip in their gear to sign the car. We know that there's the LCF (Look Cool
Factor) in the military but this was a whole new level!!
That brings us down to some of
our last few shows. I missed the first
day of the Langley International Festival as our kids had other commitments but
it was a day that will bring tears to my eyes every time! Brett had a woman come up to him and say that
we had met a friend of hers at a show in Parksville, she was Garrett Chidley's
mom. She touched the tags and Brett
could see that she was having a hard time so he chuckled and said that she was
alright since she had her sunglasses on, that's around the same time that he
admitted that he had his aviators on for the same reason. She signed our car close to the tags in
memory of her son. Whether I was there
or not, that moment made it all worth it!
I wanted to thank the Freedom Biker Church for taking a knee with Brett
while I wasn't there... The whole family
was there on Sunday and there were many people to meet and chat with. We had a group of the UN NATO motorcycle club
stop by and buy some of our shirts, they told me that they held a rally for
Wounded Warriors and donated over $5000, they rock! We added a retired Australian Special Forces
sergeant signature to the car. Randy
“Elvis” Friskie was kind enough to mention us several times during his
shows. And not to mention, Steve “Elvis”
Elliott stopped by and asked us if we wanted to come to a few of his shows and
set up beside the stage, of course we do!
We probably won't meet our goal
this summer but we realized that that's alright because we opened some eyes,
helped some lost people find their way to help and raised awareness for the men
and women who have served and continue to serve this country.
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