| CANADIAN AFGHAN "SOLDIER" TEDDY BEAR |
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| The Story of "Soldier"; |
| by Fred Herman, CD2 |
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| After serving for 33 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, I later followed that career within the Military environment for an additional 10 years. During my lengthy career, I was a multi-decorated Canadian Forces Peacekeeper. I then decided to seek out other opportunities to contribute to society and escape the possibility of boredom during my retirement years. Upon retirement from the Canadian Armed Forces/Military environment, I joined the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires in Nova Scotia and was assigned duties at the Halifax International Airport (recently renamed the Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport) where I was employed as a security officer. My duties at the airport have been very enlightening while my tasks have varied considerably as all assigned tasks are driven by requirement. At one point, I was assigned the task of escorting a fallen comrade who was being returned from Afghanistan for burial in his home province of Newfoundland. This, to me, was an honour and an extremely important and touching task which brought back many memories of my Peacekeeping duties while serving in war-torn countries including Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt. After completing my missions in these troubled countries I appreciate the fact that I returned safely and unscathed to this wonderful country of Canada. Although it was an honour to represent our marvelous country of Canada, I must admit that there were many times during these missions that fear of my personal safety and that of my fellow soldiers were of great concern. As I carried out my duties of escorting this fallen comrade my heart was full of sorrow and sympathy for his family. I shared deeply the emotions of his fellow soldiers who accompanied his remains from Afghanistan to serve as pallbearers in the Province of Newfoundland. I watched with great pride the professional manner in which the member's remains were handled and the great care taken in this sad but proud ceremony which paid such tribute to this individual who paid the ultimate sacrifice while trying to make a war-torn country a better place for all to live and work. During this ceremony I had the opportunity to speak with some of the soldiers present and recalling my own experiences of having completed multi tours of Peacekeeping duties, I was inspired to do something to contribute and show appreciation for their efforts in trying to make this particular country a better place for all residents. After much thought and consideration I settled for the idea of creating and producing a small Teddy Bear to replicate the present day Canadian Soldier now serving in Afghanistan. After a considerable amount of artwork, many prototypes, nine months later, "Soldier" the Teddy Bear pictured on this site was born. Following the birth of "Soldier" I set out to secure an agency to support my efforts as well as having support for the Canadian Forces in their mission in Afghanistan. That agency was the Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) with an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The staff at this centre was inspired by my project and I committed myself to make "Soldier" available to all MFRC's across Canada as a fundraiser for their many projects supporting families while deployed members ar in Afghanistan. With the overwhelming and positive support of this MFRC I now began to feel a sense of pride in what I was attempting to accomplish and this gave me a sudden urge to venture out and seek more support. I then approached the Irving Oil Company where I again received overwhelming support for my venture, so much so that they agreed to make me a vendor of their company. This agreement will permitted me to place my product, "Soldier", in the majority of their locations across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, Canada. I am happy to report that as a result of this agreement, "Soldier" is now available in many Irving, Circle"K", Provincial locations. Future plans are in the works for "Soldier" and my goal is to promote him as widely as possible. I am dedicated to this venture and I will pursue every avenue open to me to make it a success. With continued support such as that already received from the MFRC's, and Irving Oil I have no reservations that my venture will be a big success. This precious little item, "Soldier", represents our Canadian Forces personnel deployed in Afghanistan and if you wish to assist in any way or if you simply wish to purchase little souvenir "Soldier" teddy bear you may do so by any of the following means: Multiple Irving, Circle "K", locations in all Atlantic Provinces. Military Family Resource Centers in many provinces across Canada and one in Europe. Also available at most CANEX outlets located at the Canadian Forces Bases across Canada. |
| Updated: Jan. 20, 2009. |
| Updated: Jan. 13, 2009. |
| Updated: Jan. 20, 2009. |
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| NOTE: The teddy bear can also be purchased from the inventor "Fred Herman" by the following means of contact: Email: afganteddybear@eastlink.ca Residence: 1-902-883-6607 Cell Number: 1-902-488-9269 or Fax: 1-902-883-1067 |