Camouflage netting was pulled back in Airdrie, Alta. Sunday, to reveal a new monument dedicated to Alberta veterans and soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

It was a two-year process, including applications, preparations and travel, to get the demilitarized replica of a light armoured vehicle (LAV) III to its final parking spot in front of the Nose Creek Valley Museum. The monument, the first of its kind erected in Western Canada, travelled from London, Ont. as part of a federal program honouring Canadian soldiers.

Canada Company, a charitable group that supports the Canadian Forces, unveiled their in 2014. The program’s goal is to place 250 LAV IIIs in communities across the country. The monuments are built by Militex Coating Inc. and Fanshawe College students from demilitarized LAV IIIs.

“We decided to apply for one. I never thought in the world we’d get one,” Bob McNevin, Chairman of the Airdrie Legion’s LAV III committee, told CV Calgary.

Airdrie’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 288 spearheaded the project, but didn’t anticipate the costs involved. Transportation, installation and materials for the display are to be covered by the community. Costs for this monument came to almost $100,000. Private citizens and local businesses stepped up to the plate and opened their wallets.

 

“If it wasn’t for our sponsors, we probably wouldn’t be here today,” said McNevin.

The vehicle sits on a re-enforced concrete platform that is surrounded by lights, flagpoles and a plaque commemorating the fallen soldiers who served in Afghanistan.

“This is something for young soldiers to come by and see instead of just a plaque on a cenotaph,” said McNevin.

With files from CTV Calgary’s Brad MacLeod