Toronto - Fort York LAV

 

Location:  City of Toronto     N 43.63651   W -79.40762

Located in front of the Fort York Armoury, 660 Fleet Street.

 

This memorial was unveiled June 2018, in front a large crowd of dignitaries, friends and families.  The ceremony also honoured two Silver Cross Mothers, Kathy Smith and Donna Beek who were escorted to the monument by General Vance to lay a wreath of behalf of their sons and the other Fallen from Afghanistan.

Kathy Smith lost her son Private Demetrios Diplaros, a member of The Royal Regiment of Canada in 2008. He was born in East York and now rests in Toronto. Donna Beek’s son Corey Joseph Hayes was killed in 2009 by an Improvised Explosive Device. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Dragoons.

 It is Toronto’s only monument dedicated to the 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces who served and the 162 Canadians who lost their lives during the conflict in Afghanistan. The monument honours the Regiments of the Toronto Garrison for the role they played in what became Canada’s longest mission in history.  The Toronto Garrison consists of 16 area regiments, 13 of which belong to the 32 Canadian Brigade Group, headquartered in Toronto. These regiments are all primarily army reserve units who augment regular force regiments on deployments, such as they did in Afghanistan.

The memorial consists of a de-commissioned LAV 3 Armoured Fighting Vehicle and two accompanying plaques, one dedicated to the Regiments of the 32nd Brigade Group, and one to list those who contributed to the memorial. 

 

Marker text:

LAV plaque:

In recognition and memory of the efforts of approximately

40,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel who served and

the 162 Canadians who died in the cause of bringing peace

and freedom to the people of Afghanistan.

2001 - 2014

(repeated in French)

 

 

 

 

32 Brigade plaque:

In recognition of the soldiers of

32 Canadian Brigade Group

(Toronto Garrison)

4th Canadian Division

Who served in Afghanistan

2001 - 2014

 

The Governor General's Horse Guards

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)

7th Toronto Regiment, RCA

56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA

32 Combat Engineer Regiment

32 Signal Regiment

The Queens' Own Rifles of Canada

The Royal Regiment of Canada

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment

The Grey and Simcoe Foresters

The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)

48th Highlanders of Canada

The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own)

32 Service Battalion

25 Field Ambulance

2 Military Police Regiment

2 Intelligence Company

STEADFAST

Dedicated June 2018

 

 

Donor plaque:

THE PLACEMENT OF THIS 

LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLE (LAV III) MONUMENT

WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE EFFORTS AND

GENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING:

7TH TORONTO REGIMENT, ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY

32 SIGNAL REGIMENT

THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF CANADA FOUNDATION

GREY AND SIMCOE FORESTERS FOUNDATION

48TH  HIGHLANDERS OF CANADA

THE TORONTO SCOTTISH REGIMENT (QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER'S OWN)

2 INTELLIGENCE SENATE FUND

BLAKE C. GOLDRING, M.S.M., CD (FORMER HCOL, CANADIAN ARMY)

HCOL ANTHONY R. GRAHAM

STEPHEN J.R. SMITH

MGEN (Ret'd) R.W. LEWIS, CM, CMM, CD

BGEN (Ret'd) G. STAFFORD, OMM, CD

COL (Ret'd) R. DOUGLAS, CD

LCOL (Ret'd) J.C.C.Z. IVERSON, CD

LCOL (Ret'd) V. SHARMA, CD

LCOL THOMAS, ANGELA AND ELIZABETH PAYNE

MAJ (Ret'd) JOHN D. STEWART, CD, LL.M

THE MAAVARA FAMILY

EARL PADDOCK TRANSPORTATION INC

 

DEDICATED JUNE 2018