Priceless Cargo: Ontario trucker pulls a rolling war memorial
Paul Corey is the lead driver of the Portraits of Honour tour
CALGARY – Truck driver Paul Corey will watch proudly today as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pay respect to Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
The giant mural of Canada’s war dead, in front of which Will and Kate will spend some of their final minutes in Canada, is housed in a 53-foot trailer… and it got to Calgary behind the rig Corey drives for Ayr, Ont.-based trucking company Trans-FRT McNamara.
He’s the lead driver for the Portraits of Honour rolling memorial that has travelled half the country in recent months. And he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not just pulling a giant mural across the country, he’s hauling a tangible reminder of the aspirations of a country and the dedication of its brave young soldiers.
The Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge view the Portraits of Honour
“This is the most important cargo I’ve pulled,” says Corey. “It’s priceless, buddy, just priceless.”
The oil painting bears the portraits of 155 fallen soldiers (two more are being roughed out and will soon be added to the mural). Trans-FRT McNamara has lent incredible support to the project, donating the use of a tractor, and assigning Corey as full-time driver.
“I get a lot of thumbs up as people pass on the highways, and lots of friendly waves,” says Corey, a 20-year driver. “The guys on the radio are always wanting to know what’s going on. Everyone’s for it.”
The painting is the brainchild of Cambridge, Ont. artist and Kinsman Dave Sopha who has done work for veterans in the past, and who was moved to “do something with a lot of impact” to celebrate Canada’s war dead in Afghanistan.
The Portraits of Honour stopped at Trans-FRT McNamara’s Ayr, Ont.-facility in July before heading out west
“This painting will last 500 years, the way it’s done,” he says. “I painted it like the masters did.”
But getting the giant painting on the road proved to be a huge challenge for the Kinsmen who adopted the project.
The company they thought would be pulling the specially designed trailer backed out at the last minute, just days before the official unveiling in Kitchener, Ont. Among the dignitaries scheduled to be at the event included Canada’s Governor General David Johnston. In a panic, the Kinsmen called Greg Palmer and Ward Tregoning owners of Trans-FRT McNamara.
“We put out a desperate plea at the eleventh hour – actually 11:59 – I felt like we were on the electric chair waiting for the red phone from the governor to ring,” says Sean Libin, a past national service director with Kin Canada. “Greg and Ward stepped up and they’ve really moved this project along.”
“We initially were going to just help them get started,” says Palmer. “But through more discussion with Kinsmen we decided to continue on with the whole tour.”
The trailer has toured extensively in Ontario and out west. It will continue on to the east coast later this year, and dates continue to be added as word spreads about the mural.
“We’re excited to be participating quite honestly,” says Palmer. “It’s a very moving portrait and it’s going to be seen by some important people. It’s a real honour.”
Libin can’t say enough about Trans-FRT McNamara’s help.
“You can’t just take a 53′ trailer and attach it to the back of your Mazda pickup,” he says. “We literally would have been sitting in the middle of a parking lot somewhere without their help.”
“This tour was meant to be. There’s no two ways about it,” says Bruce Lloyd, the national project manager and a past national president of Kin Canada.
He points out that one of the aims of the tour is to raise money for soldiers returning from Afghanistan with psychological and physical needs.
“We have to honour these 157 soldiers, sailors, and air crew,” he said, “but there’s a lot more to this. There are so many young men and women coming back from overseas that have emotional and physical disabilities, and they’re not getting the help they require.”
Tregoning says Trans-FRT McNamara is pleased to be part of such an important project.
“We’ve moved everything from airplanes to buildings to hazardous materials, but this is up there as the most unusual,” he says. “Certainly it’s the most emotional!”
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