The memory of Cpl. Glen Arnold will live forever in the hearts of his family. On April 19, his hometown created a lasting outward show of respect for his sacrifice.
On a crisp, bright Tuesday morning, family, friends, servicemen and Legionnaires gathered near the Arnold family home down Levert Road in McKerrow for the unveiling of the new sign denoting Cpl. Glen Arnold Ave.
"Glen would be so proud," said his mother, Leona. "It was his uncle Brian's idea to honour Glen this way, and the Township of Baldwin without hesitation proceeded to make it happen. Our family will always be grateful for this gift."
Cpl. Arnold was born in Sudbury on his parents' eighth wedding anniversary and raised in McKerrow. According to the family he loved the outdoors, and spent much of his youth rambling around the 320 acres of land his great-grand father Joseph purchased in 1907.
Leona said that land at the end of the renamed avenue would have been his eventually.
"Now it sort of will be anyway," she said. "There is no better way to honour him than this. This land was always close to his heart."
The event began with a parade led by the colour party of RCL Branch 39 Espanola. Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes said all Canadians owe Cpl. Arnold a debt of gratitude "for his willingness to serve his country and his ultimate sacrifice in the service. The renaming of this street is truly … a fitting tribute to his memory, and is a demonstration of this gratitude."
Conservative candidate Ray Sturgeon, himself a retired serviceman, was also present.
Cpl. Arnold spent his adult life serving the true North strong and free. He enlisted as a reservist in the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Regiment of Canada (Sudbury) in 1992 at just 18 years old. Most of his weekends after that date were spent training at Burwash.
In 1997 he trained as a medical technician at CFB Borden and was subsequently posted to 2 Field Ambulance at CFB Petawawa, where he began his career in the regular forces. That career took him overseas several times including tours in Bosnia Herzegovina as part of a NATO stabilization force (March-Sept. 2001), as a medical technician in Afghanistan's Operation Apollo (Oct. 2003-Feb. 2004) and in Sri Lanka following the Pacific tsunami of 2004 (Jan.-Feb. 2005) as part of the Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Program.
On August 12, 2006 Cpl. Arnold returned to Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Less than five weeks later (Sept. 18), he and Espanola's Pte. David Byers were among four Canadian soldiers killed by a suicide bomber.
Cpl. Arnold gained the trust of his unit as the "Unit Doc," and formed a bond with Pte. Byers too. He called him "the kid from next door in Espanola" in missives to his family.
The mission Cpl. Arnold was on was a dangerous one. He spent most of his time "outside the wire," or beyond the protection of the NATO base, as a platoon medic with an infantry division of the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI).
He left behind his wife Kerry, daughters Katherine, Jessica, Samantha and son Connor, parents Leona and George, a sister Mary-Lynn and three brothers, Wayne, Dean and Lance.
