Fundraiser a night to remember, lest we forget
Published Thursday November 12th, 2009
In an emotional outpouring, Canadians answered the call on Tuesday night, filling a hall at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and raising more than $2 million to help mend shattered military lives.
At the inaugural True Patriot Love dinner, heroes and sacrifice were all around: One tank gunner who lost both legs in a mine blast, but still plans to return to the desert in Afghanistan for a third tour; Another soldier battling to recover from horrible injuries incurred when a villager suddenly drove an axe into his skull; Loved ones that have lost spouses to the horrors of war.
The gathering was sweet and sad, a tribute on the eve of Remembrance Day to the fallen and the healing during which men in tuxedos with poppies pinned to their lapels and women in elegant evening dresses stood as a long line of pipers filed into the room.
The prime minister was there and so were a multitude of others of substance: former prime minister Paul Martin, NDP leader Jack Layton, members of Parliament, senators and diplomats and Canada's greatest military minds present and past - Chief of Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk, Rick Hillier and Lewis MacKenzie.
A gruff guy with a soft spot for soldiers, Don Cherry read a letter from a young boy who lost his dad, and Capt. Trevor Green of Cape Breton, who is recovering from those terrible head injuries, left eyes misty with a halting speech from a wheelchair, his girlfriend's hand resting on his left shoulder.
"The code of honour for combat soldiers is to leave no one behind on the battle field,'' Green said slowly, as an auditorium full of the powerful and the rich fell silent. "That's the reason I am here today.
"Soldiers and families need help. Get the soldiers the help they need. Take care of our warriors coming home from the battlefields."
A charity founded by Hillier in 2007, the Military Families Fund was greatly boosted on Tuesday night, with the Canadian Tenors singing and photographs of soldiers in Afghanistan flashing on big screens, and generous bidding at a silent auction for an array of items, including 100 combat helmets painted by artists, framed prints and golf and hockey outings and even a mystery tour of Parliament Hill with Mike Duffy.
A round of golf with Hillier, caddy and cart included, sold for $2,300, a helmet painted and autographed by Sarah McLachlan -"Peace and Love and All Good Things to You" brought $1,100.
There were helmets signed by Hillier and Rick Mercer and the Blue Jays and the Raptors and the Argos and Blue Rodeo, and one each signed by the Ottawa Senators and the Maple Leafs. The highest bid for the latter was only $450 - imagine how much it could have been if Toronto had a professional team playing at Air Canada Centre.
It was all Canadian, all the time: a helmet fashioned into a beaver, another turned into a goose, one a steelhead salmon and two with Tim Hortons' themes.
It was a night to remember and for lest we forget, a showing of patriot love unlike anything Canada has seen in many years. The prime minister said support for the military is the highest it has been since perhaps the Second World War, and the Prince of Wales, who laid a wreath at the War Memorial in Ottawa on Wednesday, sent a videotaped message of thanks - "Canada's support for this mission has come at a terrible price."
Frank McKenna, the former ambassador and New Brunswick premier, sat with his wife, Julie, at the head table, where two seats, reserved for members of the Canadian Forces unable to attend, were left vacant.
"There is a huge latent patriotism for our troops and you are seeing it here tonight, in how dedicated and how supportive people are," McKenna said. "It has been an emotional overload for me.
"On a day-to-day basis, we just don't feel the pain and see the price people pay, but tonight, seeing soldiers who have lost their limbs, and families who have lost their loved ones, it is very poignant."
Marty Klinkenberg is contributing editor of the Telegraph-Journal. He can be reached at martyklinkenberg@hotmail.com.
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wish I had been there.
"lest we forget"
Congratulations.
Hopefully this will start a trend and events such as these will continue across the country.
We will never forget
Everyone say a prayer for the naysayer
As commendable as this is ... (and I applaud it),
.. it makes me think, ... shouldn't our government be taking care of our soldiers properly, providing to them and their families that which they need and is their due ???
Is it not deplorable that we have to hold "benefit dinners" & "silent auctions" to do this ???
Am I missing something here ?