Serving and retired members of the Calgary Armed Forces gathered alongside family and friends at South Glenmore Park on Saturday morning for the fifth annual Canadian Veterans Walk.
The five-kilometre walk aims to raise awareness of the plight of Canadian veterans, first responders and foreign nationals who have supported Canadian troops in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda and other missions of peacekeeping.
“The goal is to support these veterans and when someone says something can’t be done, these men and women don’t take no for an answer and they care for each other,” Murray Marshall said. .
The proud father walked on Saturday in honor of his son, Sapper Steven Marshall of Calgary, who died at the age of 24 on October 30, 2009 while on foot patrol in the Panjwal district of Kandahar, Afghanistan .
“One of the biggest problems for these veterans is that when they come home they’re expected to put it out, all the horror they’ve seen,” Marshall added.
“So when these veterans came home and found there was little support for them, they created their own and there’s no way not to.”
More than 80 people participated in the Calgary event, which is one of 11 walks held across Canada and hundreds more are supporting the initiative for veterans donating online.
Net proceeds also go to the True Patriot Love Afghan Resettlement Campaign to help Afghan refugees and their families adjust to life in Canada with support for legal costs, housing, language, mental health, education and vocational training.
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Employment is of major importance according to Andrea Chant of the Order of St. George.
She says her team’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans and their families, and supports the Canadian Cadets and Junior Rangers programs.
“A lot of our veterans are coming back from conflict with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other ailments, so this march is also to support that as well,” Chant said.
Veterans like Dean Compton, for example, still suffer from PTSD.
The former corporal of the Premier The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battalion served in Cyprus and Croatia before retiring in 1996, but the psychological wounds of the conflict remain.
“A lot of veterans have taken their own lives because they didn’t get the help they needed, so things like physical disabilities are easier to deal with because it’s something that can be corrected or modified,” he said.
“But the mental health issues and PTSD and other challenges we’ve been through are still tough and a lot of guys who went to Afghanistan and from my generation are still hurting.”
The organizer of this year’s walk in Calgary was Gene Kushnir, currently Commanding Officer of 604 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets and Honorary Military Champion Aide to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
He says veterans have served much of their lives fighting for the freedom of millions of Canadians, but many are unable to make ends meet when they return to civilian jobs.
“We have a lot of veterans who leave the military and unfortunately some of them end up homeless or in need in one way or another.”
“I hope in the years to come we can just keep growing and growing and getting bigger and bigger by raising more funds for all the veterans organizations.”
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