Orangeville - Bravery Park

 

 

Location:  Dufferin County     N 43.90504   W -80.12955

On the east side of Riddell Road (Dufferin Rd. 109), in the park behind the BMX track at the Alder Street Community Centre.

 

Bravery Park is the newest memorial in Ontario, unveiled to great fanfare and ceremony on September 3, 2021.  It was truly the effort of a dedicated community to making this park a reality.  The idea of this beautiful park was inspired by the death of local hero Cpl. Matthew McCully, who was killed in action in Afghanistan may 25, 2007.  His family (sister Shannon McGrady and mother Valerie McGrady)was the driving force behind the memorial, along with the Royal Canadian Legion and dozens of local volunteers.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by invitation only, but was well supported by veterans, sponsors and donors, local politicians, bands, armoured vehicles and local dignitaries.  Speeches were given by many guest speakers including the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswel, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) William Adcock, former CF sniper and spokesman Jody Mitic and Shannon McGrady.  The Canadian Forces Snowbirds did a flyover of the ceremony.  I was not one of those privileged to attend the service, but I did make an appearance after the ceremony to pay my respects and to capture the emotion of the day.

I would like to use some of Shannon's speech here to convey the message of thanks for all who have served:

"And finally, our troops. The reason we are all here today. We are deeply honoured to have so many of you join us. Although this park is often portrayed as a memorial to my brother, it isn’t and never was. It was inspired by his legacy, but this park has always been about all of you.

As a country, we do an incredible job of honouring our fallen soldiers. However, much of Canada remains unaware of the daily sacrifices you make to serve Canada and the world at large. You sacrifice months, even years, with loved ones to complete humanitarian and environmental missions all over the world. Some of these missions expose you to extreme devastation and danger, often having a lasting impact on your mental and physical health. For many of you, the sights, sounds and smells of these missions never go away.

And yet despite everything you sacrifice, I’ve yet to meet a soldier or veteran that considers themselves a hero. You say it was your job, what you were trained to do. But it is far more than that.

Many of us here today serve our communities, even our province, but you, you serve our country, and what a great country it is. You are Canada’s heroes and we are so very proud of you.

This park honours you, your family, your sacrifices, your achievements, your bravery."

Thank you for your service.

Also, from the Bravery Park Facebook page, these are Shannon's words to describe the new memorial statue:

"Introducing the statue in Bravery Park!

Designed to capture the compassion and bravery of our Canadian soldiers, the statue was created by local artists Donna Pascoe and Peter Turrell, with Valerie McGrady (Bravery Park's founder). This piece took many hours to conceptualize and received input from different parties, including Canadian soldiers themselves.

The heartfelt exchange of a Giant Swallowtail signifies rebirth and new beginnings brought about by change and transformation. The statue is mounted in the center of a Victoria Cross. The highest decoration a soldier can receive, the Victoria Cross is awarded for valour, self-sacrifice, or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy."