Evening of Honour

Tuesday, 15 April 2014 11:11

Pte. Tyler William Todd, killed in Afghanistan in 2010 will be honoured with a memorial in his name May 9th.

Friday, May 9th will see local vets of the Afghan conflict honoured in Woodstock.

WOODSTOCK -- An event next month will recognize the sacrifice of all Oxford County members of Canada's Armed Forces who served in the Afghan war.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's announcement of May 9, 2014 being a "National Day of Honour" to recognize and give appreciation to Afghanistan War Veterans gave local military historian Stephen Smith the idea to ask the Legion to support an evening of honour.

"We're using it a pitch to help support all of our troops through all of the conflicts, but primarily we're focusing on those who served in Afghanistan and saying thank-you to them for their service and their dedication to the mission. "

The Afghan conflict created over 40,000 new veterans, with a quarter of them having gone to Afghanistan more than once.

Smith, who also serves as First Vice-President of the Woodstock branch of the Royal Canadian Legion says Branch 55 will host an evening May 9 as well, featuring dinner, live music, along with a silent auction to support the the Private Tyler William Todd Memorial.

Private Todd was the first and only Canadian soldier from Oxford County to be killed during the Afghan mission. The 26 year old Bright native was killed in April of 2010 after stepping on an improvised explosive device southwest of Kandahar city.

Smith says Private Todd has been honoured in a couple of different ways.

"He was added to the Woodstock cenotaph, once the project for the research into the spelling mistakes and the guys who were missed on the memorial was complete. They put that beautiful new front on it and Tyler is there under the Afghan conflict banner."

While it's been mentioned that as many as 17 armed forces members serving in Afghanistan were from Oxford County, Smith says he's aware there may actually be more who qualify in that category.

"There are significantly more into that list, that I believe there is 26 from Oxford County that have actively served in the Afghan conflict."

Woodstock Legion Branch 55's "Evening of Honour" goes Friday, May 9 starting with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and a welcoming speech will follow with live entertainment and beverages afterward.

The event is open to everyone in addition to members. For more info, or to purchase tickets, visit: www.eveningofhonour.com