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Although there were questions raised about the Repatriation Memorial Drive and Rally organization Saturday to honour Canadian soldiers, for some family members of fallen soldiers, it was their first time to experience the thousands of people who turn out on bridges along the Highway of Heroes to pay tribute.
The rally started at Centennial Park in Trenton and ended at Downsview Park in Toronto.
A total of 510 motorcycles and 122 vehicles made the journey along with 83 red vehicles representing each of the fallen Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Family members of 13 soldiers killed in Afghanistan made the trip to Trenton for the journey along the Highway of Heroes.
Jane Byers' son, Pte. David Byers was killed, along with three other soldiers, by a suicide bomber on Sept. 18, 2006.
Although her family witnessed the overwhelming support along the highway, some family members of other soldiers who were repatriated before the section of Highway 401 was renamed the Highway of Heroes never saw the thousands of people lining the bridges — until Saturday.
"It has been a very emotional day for us," Ms. Byers said in Trenton just prior to the first group of riders heading out on the highway.
"It’s the only opportunity I have to thank the people who supported us standing outside the gates of CFB Trenton, on the streets, on the bridges and overpasses. It was very overwhelming and very touching," Ms. Bysters said. "That September afternoon when we left Trenton with our son, it took us by total surprise by seeing the amount of people that came out to show us the people of Canada really do care."
Truck driver Larry Josie has covered the side of his transport truck with a tribute to Canadian soldiers. Saturday, he was driving in honour of Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh who was the 25th Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan. The soldier's unit in Shilo, Manitoba sent Mr. Josie a shirt from his unit that he wore on Saturday.
"A lot of the parents have been coming up thanking me for what I’ve done for the soldiers. I’m very proud," Mr. Josie said.
"I got a hug from them and it’s really emotional and proud at the same time."
Dennis Bartsch’s son, Cpl. Cole Bartsch, and five other soldiers were killed July 7, 2007 by a roadside bomb.
Cpl. Bartsch's parents made the trip from Whitecourt, Alberta to travel along the highway on Saturday.
"Still mixed emotions; it hasn’t been a year yet," Mr. Bartsch said Saturday.
But, he said, the idea for the rally was the right one: "It definitely is a good idea to have this anytime."
Although the turnout on Hwy. 401 bridges wasn’t as big Saturday as when his son and five soldiers travelled along the Highway of Heroes, Mr. Bartsch is grateful to the people.
"It means a lot to us. It’s a day they could have had off to do nothing. There is no reason to be there (on the bridges) except for us, so they still are showing their support and it makes us feel better," Mr. Bartsch said.
The last group left Trenton at 3 p.m. on Saturday lead by the OPP Golden Helmets motorcycle group. The Support Our Troops car followed next, then 83 red vehicles signifying Canada's 83 fallen soldiers, and a bus with the family members.
"We’re proud Canadians. We live in cities, towns and rural areas, but we have one thing in common, we honour our fallen and support our men and women in uniform," Ms. Byers said.
The rally was organized by the Red Fridays Foundation of Canada. Funds raised, organizer Brian Muntz said, would be contributed to the Canadian Hearing Society.

Hello, my name is Devin Castilloux. I’m 15-years-old, and I’m a member of the 540 Air Cadets
in Oakville. For the past four years I have been working on meeting war veterans. This project
is ongoing and has surpassed all of its expectations in both size and in the reactions it’s received.
The project started off as a way for me to learn about Canadian history, and work on my writing
skills. From writing simple letters, to lists of questions, to researching great Canadian
achievements. The project has given me opportunities where I have been able to see Canada’s
history with my own eyes. My dad told me stories about Canadian battles and I became really
interested in Canadian military history, but I was not as keen in writing things. One day my dad
asked me if I wanted to talk with war Veterans and learn their stories. I gracefully agreed to this
and so I was off on the first steps of this project.
My dad looked around and found that there was a Veterans wing at Sunnybrook Hospital. So off
we were to talk with Mr. Queen who was a tank platoon commander of the Second World War.
After the interview with him, I asked him if he could sign a small paper Canadian flag as
something to remember him by. He gladly signed it. During that visit I also met a Korean War
Vet and Mr. Clair Lakeing who saw frontline duty from the First World War. I asked if Clair
Lakeing would like to sign a paper Canadian flag too because I realized how rare it was to meet a
World War I veteran. On a later visit to the Sunnybrook Veterans Wing, I brought individual
plaque’s for veterans I have interview and one specially for Clair Lakeing.
I had managed to make a small collection of paper flags and after another memorable visit on the
way home, I asked my dad if I could have the Veterans sing a Canadian flag. Y dad liked this
idea so he agreed on it. On my next visit he bought me a big Canadian flag and some markers for
veterans to use. On the first day I think we got about 100 signatures from war vets from WW 1,
WW 2, Korea, and a few peacekeeping vets.
After a few more interviews and a few more opportunities to get signatures on the Canadian flag,
I asked if we could get the flag to fly on the Peace Tower at Parliament Hill, for Remembrance
Day.
I wrote a letter to the Honourable Scott Brison, asking him what I need to do to make this
impossible goal happen. Mr. Brison replied shortly after I sent the letter and she he greatly
appreciated the idea and the project, but we are not supposed to sign the Canadian flag. He
offered me the Canadian flag off of the Peace Towner for Remembrance Day 2005, the Year of
the Veteran. True to his word, on November 23, 2005, I met with my local MP Bonnie Brown
and received our Nations Flag that flew on the Peace towner on November 11, 2005.
I learned that although we cannot sign a Canadian flag, we can sign an attached border. So my
dad went to Flags Unlimited and asked for a large white flag piece. On May 7, 2005 my dad and
I were in Ottawa for the opening of the War Museum. Just days before that we received our
large flag piece and were preparing to re-start this flag project. We followed the crowd form the
Cenotaph to the war museum, and got veterans to sign on the go. Near the end of the day we had
collection around 100-200 signatures from war veterans from across Canada.
Over that summer I went to local Legions and back to Sunnybrook to re-gather the signatures. I
met a father of a soldier in Afghanistan who was curious about what my project was about and if
it could go over to Afghanistan. I explained to him the story and asked if we could send a piece
of the flag over to Afghanistan for our soldiers to sign. My dad had ordered tow smaller pieces
to add onto the flag because of its growing size. So off went a flag piece to Afghanistan along
with the knowledge of its importance and a Canadian flag that was to become one of Canada’s
recent battle flags. When I got the flag back form Afghanistan there was about 85 signatures on
it and four added posthumously by their comrades.
While this was going on, my dad and I went to Calgary for the Royal Canadian Executive
Convention in June. There I used the other flag piece and went back and forth from the Museum
of the Regiments and the Calgary Convention Centre. After all of that and leaving the flag piece
to a Legion there, the flag piece came home and had around 250 signatures on it. In total we had
around 500 signatures on the three pieces.
My goal was to reach a grand total of 800 signatures, so we kept going on with the project to
numerous local events. We happ4ened to go to the Hamilton War Museum and managed to get
the flag both displayed and signed, bringing the total up to 600. We were invited to Toronto for
the unveiling of a memorial wall ceremony. There we got about 200 more signatures. Now we
believe we have reached our goal of at least 800 signatures, if not surpassing that goal.
Last year, around this time we got an opportunity to meet with Mr. Dwight Wilson. And have
him sign the flag. He was the last Canadian living in Canada who served during World War 1.
Our flag now has approximately 1,200 signatures from three WW I veterans, many WW II
veterans, Korean and Peacekeeping vet signatures along with present day Afghanistan veterans.
Among there are WAACS, WRENS and one astronaut named Chris Hadfield and just recently
signed by one of Canada’s most respected Generals of all time, General Rick Hillier.
The flags goal is to raise awareness for our veterans, both young and old. The flag is home from
its second tour of duty in Afghanistan and was being displayed and signed by the Canadian
soldiers stationed there.
Recently I have written to the Honorable Stephen Harper asking if he could help me to have the
flag displayed at the Museum of the Regiments in Calgary. The museum of the Regiments is
important because it is the second largest Military museum in Canada, next to the Canadian War
Museum in Ottawa.
Along with the flag project I have received numerous stories from the signing veterans.
I’ve heard of a sailor who was saved by peanuts, a frontline story of how not to make stew and a
code talkers story of meeting up with someone she saw as a POW years later.
A soldier puts his or her flag before themselves. Canadian soldiers have often put another
nation’s flag before our nations pride and our flag. Canada has never had to fight for its own
independence since becoming a nation. The Canadian miliary has fought for the freedoms of
other nations and peoples, rather than for economic gains. Canadian soldiers fight for the better
of all people rather than to conquer a land, a people, or a resource.
In over 140 years, Canada’s military has paid a price of 117,000 souls to try and bring similar
freedoms to others. Let us not forget what this hefty price means, but what it has accomplished,
not just for our nation, but for the people of the world.