“Pain to Purpose” is a statement heard more often than not when the Veteran Community gathers every Spring (weeks leading up to National Day of Honour on May 9) and Fall (weeks leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11) to clean the Highway of Heroes.
It’s about honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice on a special stretch of Canadian soil where 158 Fallen Soldiers from the Afghanistan War were repatriated home.
The 2019 Fall Clean of the Highway of Heroes ended in Port Hope on October 25 2019 on purpose – it was Silver Cross Mother- Anna Loveman’s son, Craftsman Kyle Sinclair’s birthday and the significance of that location is that the on and off ramps on Toronto Road in Port Hope was adopted earlier this year in Memory of Craftsman Kyle Sinclair. Craftsman Sinclair’s preventable death transpired while he was working alone inside a Coyote armoured vehicle at CFB Petawawa on November 21 2014.
Appallingly shocking is that the Highway of Heroes Volunteers made up of Military, Veterans, First Responders, Families of the Fallen and people who care about them just finished cleaning the on and off ramps on Toronto Road on August 3, but it’s hard to tell by looking at the amount of garbage on both sides of the road and empty alcohol containers found on the driver’s side on the on ramp to North America’s busiest highway. Less than three months have passed since Craftsman Kyle Sinclair’s family and their friends picked up garbage tossed on land dedicated in Memory of a Canadian Armed Forces member.
The history on the Highway of Heroes Adoption:
In November 2016, Corporal Nick Kerr, Master Corporal (retired) Collin Fitzgerald and Kerri Tadeu adopted a 1.18 kilometer stretch of the Highway of Heroes in Grafton in honour of Tadeu’s friend Major Michelle Knight Mendes who was the 118 soldier who was carried home from Afghanistan.
Shortly after, the trio adopted the entire 344 kilometers of the Highway of Heroes (172 km East and 172 km West). “Our Highway of Heroes Adoption in honour of Major Michelle Knight Mendes is rooted 95% in mental health and 5% in garbage collection” Master Corporal (retired) Fitzgerald stated
“When picking up the garbage on the Highway of Heroes the 5% feels very heavy mostly because it’s disheartening that we live in the greatest country in the world and people are treating what we consider a sacred stretch of soil like a dumping ground” stated Corporal Kerr
Having cleaned the Highway of Heroes for three years and picking up approximately 1400 bags of trash on the on and off ramps they have returned over $800 worth of empty alcohol containers to the Beer Store and donated those funds to MADD Canada to bring awareness that there are drivers on North America’s busiest highway drinking and driving.
SerViCe-Soldier, Veteran, Civilian with Corporal Nick Kerr being the Soldier, Master Corporal (retired) Collin Fitzgerald being the Veteran and Kerri Tadeu being the Civilian they have lead the cleaning of the Highway of Heroes twice a year since adopting it.
Tadeu is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse who has picked up hundreds of urine containers found in ditches and on the side of the road in the last three years. Every year she randomly tests numerous bottles of urine with a urinalysis dipstick with a hypothesis that the individuals who are peeing in the bottles and throwing the bottles out the window or dumping them in a ditch may have serious untreated medical conditions secondary to the colour of the urine in the bottles.
The results are always the same. The urine bottles that are randomly tested during the Spring and Fall Clean at various on and off ramps along the Highway of Heroes result in being positive for protein, glucose, blood and leukocytes to name just a few which supports Tadeu’s hypothesis and leads to a second hypothesis that if the drivers are medically unwell this could be a major contributing factor in the number of accidents and deaths reported each year on the highway.
Metabolic disorders, renal failure and diabetes for example when untreated can lead to lethargy, drowsiness, fatigue confusion, blurred vision, decreased mental sharpness and disorientation.
Tadeu is hopeful that someday, someone will take an interest in her hypothesis and accept the data she collects every year for a thesis or research paper.
She has reached out far and wide to a number of Universities and Colleges and the feedback received is that “It’s a very interesting topic but it’s never been studied before.”
“Exactly!,” states Tadeu.
“It’s never been done before! Collecting the data and writing on the topic has the potential to make the Highway safer for all travelers with the potential of saving lives.”
Northumberland County MPP David Piccini participated in the Highway of Heroes clean this year and experienced what it is like to pick up bottles of urine out of the ditches in Westleyville- a location on the Highway of Heroes that truckers treat like a landfill. The area reeks of urine and it takes on average approximately 4-5 hours to clean 200 meters secondary to the large amount of garbage dumped between the Spring and Fall Cleans.
MPP Piccini has invited the Highway of Heroes Volunteers made up of Military, Veterans, First Responders, Families of the Fallen and the people who care about them to the Legislative Assembly in Toronto next month to have a meeting with Premier Doug Ford to talk about the Highway of Heroes Adoption.
Among the volunteers during the 2019 Fall Clean was Port Hope Deputy Police Chief Darren Strongman, who said it was a way of respecting those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
“It’s respecting the highway, the Highway of Heroes, standing along bridges every time a service member was brought home, and somewhat emotional … I can’t believe how much garbage is dumped in these lane ways,” said Strongman.
Silver Cross mother Dianne Knight participates in the clean-up in the Grafton area near her home every six months meeting the many volunteers who travel as far away as Montreal, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Guelph, Newmarket and everywhere in between. Knight is extremely proud of the group for continuing to honour her daughter’s life and contribute to her legacy.
Jesper Boel travelled from Denmark for the second time to clean the Highway of Heroes and this time he brought another Dane with him- Vivi Lethan. Boel first met Tadeu and Fitzgerald at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017 while he was cheering on a friend who had been injured by a sniper in Bosnia. When Boel heard the story about the cleaning of the Highway of Heroes he booked a flight to Canada to take part in the 2018 Spring Clean. “The Highway of Heroes is a good way for people to show honour and respect to the families left behind” stated Boel.
“I think this is a wonderful way to remember those who have fallen and at the same time we are environmentally astute,” said Nancy Siew, Honourary Lt. Colonel of the Military Police Academy, whose son, Captain Cletus Cheng MSM, CD died after competing in the ‘Defenders Challenge’ in 1995.
Tadeu said “It’s an emotional journey knowing that the Highway of Heroes captures international hearts and minds.”
Toronto MTO First Responder Rob Baird has been a constant source of support since day one of the Highway of Heroes 2017 Spring Clean.
“Baird’s knowledge, skill and judgement in cleaning the Highway of Heroes and providing continuous safety tips from over two decades of work experience with Miller Maintenance is second to none and the Highway of Heroes would not be what it is today without his support over the last few years” Tadeu stated
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
