Artist’s rendition by local graphic artist, Lisa Twomey of Creative Spark.
The Town of Petawawa is going ahead with a project that would see banners honouring local military units on busy streets.
The “Honour Our Veterans Banner Program” was presented to council last night (November 8th, 2021) by representatives with the Petawawa Rotary Club.
This program will be an ongoing, annual event to recognize all past and present military units that once operated or are presently operating on Garrison Petawawa.
Rotary Club President Valerie Hyksa says they hope to see the first banners go up in October of next year (2022).
The plan is to have the banners displayed on lamp posts in Petawawa between early-October and mid-November each year.
Hyska says it’s a small, but important way to pay tribute to our veterans and active members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Past President of the Petawawa Rotary Club and former Mayor in Petawawa, Ed Chow says it will be nice to see banners go up recognizing units that he served for and adds he plans to sponsor one of them.
The Honour Our Veterans Banner Program will be funded through direct sponsorship of individual banners.
The cost to sponsor a banner is $150.00 with each banner having a lifespan of approximately 10-years.
Application forms will be available for pick up leading up to the launch of the project next year.
The cost to swap out the banners each year is $4,500 and is included in the 2022 budget.
Each banner will be double-sided with each unit being represented on both sides of their individual banner.
The banners would be placed on Petawawa Boulevard, Civic Centre Road and Victoria Street.
The Petawawa Legion Branch 517 banner will be the first banner immediately after the Petawawa River Bridge, followed by the 4th Canadian Division Support Base banner and the 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group banner.
Councillor Murray Rutz says it’s an important project to show respect for men and women who have served and continue to serve.
Councillor Theresa Sabourin says it’s a unique way to recognize each unit as the garrison is a large part of the town.
Councillor Tom Mohns was in favour of the project, but wanted a policy to be put in place to control future applications for banners in Petawawa.
Deputy Mayor Gary Serviss said it’s a fantastic idea, but agreed that they didn’t want to open Pandora’s Box in terms of banner applications to a point where it costs too much money.
Mayor Bob Sweet commented that it’s an excellent way to recognize the contribution of the military and wanted to ensure that all units going back to 1905 are represented and nobody is missed.
The Town of Petawawa passed a motion to support the initiative at their council meeting Monday night (November 8th, 2021).
Present Units
- 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR)
- 1st Canadian Field Hospital (1 Cdn Fd Hosp)
- 1 Dental Unit Detachment Petawawa (1 DU)
- 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Squadron (2 CMBG)
- 2 Combat Engineer Regiment (2 CER)
- 2 Field Ambulance (2 Fd Amb)
- 2 Military Police Regiment (2 Mp Regt)
- 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (2 RCHA)
- 2 Service Battalion (2 Svc Bn)
- 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR)
- 4th Canadian Division Support Base (4 CDSB)
- 77 Line Regiment (77 Line Regt)
- 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS)
- 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (450 THS)
- Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR)
- Canadian Special Operations Training Centre (CSOTC)
- Central Medical Equipment Depot (CMED)
- Royal Canadian Chaplain Service (Chaplains)
- Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD)
- Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME)
Past Units
- 1st Air Defence Regiment (1 AD Regt)
- 2 Combat Group (2 Cbt Gp)
- 2 Signals Squadron (2 Sigs Sqn)
- 2 nd Canadian Infantry Brigade (2 CIB)
- 4 RCHA (Royal Canadian Horse Artillery) (4 RCHA)
- 8th Canadian Hussars (8 CH)
- Canadian Airborne Regiment (CAR)
- The Canadian Guards (Cdn Gds)
- Fort Garry Horse (FGH)
- Special Service Force (SSF)
Royal Canadian Legion
- Royal Canadian Legion Petawawa (Branch 517)
Artist’s rendition by local graphic artist, Lisa Twomey of
Creative Spark.
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