Like most Canadians, Ontario’s Dave Sopha has watched the media reports of our Canadian Forces’ activities in Afghanistan. He, like so many others, has been heartbroken each time we learn of the loss of life of another Canadian soldier, sailor or aircrew.
Each of these news reports took a toll on Sopha but on December 5, 2008 it became too much. It was on this date that three soldiers, Warrant Officer Robert Wilson, Pte. Demetrios Diplaros, Cpl. Mark McLaren, all from 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, were killed by an IED.
Pte. Diplaros’ death brought the number of Canadian troops killed in the Afghan war to 100.
Sopha is an accomplished artist. He’s also a proud member of one of Canada’s most prestigious service clubs:
Kin Canada. At that moment in time, Sopha decided to combine his love for community service with his passion for painting and made the conscious decision to dedicate the next two years of his life to honouring every fallen soldier, sailor or aircrew through a mural he called Portraits of Honour.
Kin Canada. At that moment in time, Sopha decided to combine his love for community service with his passion for painting and made the conscious decision to dedicate the next two years of his life to honouring every fallen soldier, sailor or aircrew through a mural he called Portraits of Honour.
Dave shares his vision and thoughts in the following video:
The Portraits of Honour National Tour provided Canadians from coast to coast with an opportunity to honour and celebrate our Canadian soldiers, pay respect to those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice and to recognize the challenges that face those who will return home with lasting physical or emotional injuries.
I made a video walkthrough of the Portraits of Honour for those unable to see it in person.
Just beautiful! We have done something similar in this area. After my son-in-law was killed in Iraq in 2007, my daughter returned "home". She was asked to be the spokesperson for a group organized to honor all those killed from New York State. We have a mural with the names of all of them done with their name below a star that has a picture on it. The mural has traveled around NY so that other can honor our fallen heroes. It was a bittersweet time but worth the effort to help the public remember. I went with her to most of her engagements during the time she represented and honored her husband as well as all of the others. So congratulations to Dave Sopha for his ability to do something so wonderful! God Bless. C Adams, Ilion, NY
ReplyDelete