Intersecting streets in West Brant will forever honor two of Brantford’s bravest sons.
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The families of Trooper Larry John Zuidema Rudd and Capt. Richard (Steve) Leary officially unveiled on Friday the street sign that bears the names of the soldiers, both killed in Afghanistan two years apart.
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“These streets will forever serve as a reminder of their bravery, sacrifice and the ultimate price they paid in service to our nation,” said Mayor Kevin Davis during a dedication service at the Mary Welsh Picnic Shelter on Gilkison Street. “It is my sincere hope that as residents travel along these roads, they always remember the valor and selflessness of Trooper Rudd and Captain Leary.”
Coun. Richard Carpenter received support from his city council colleagues in 2020 to have Rudd and Leary approved for use as street names.
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Leary, a platoon commander with the 2n/a Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry regiment based in Shilo Man., died on June 3, 2008 of wounds suffered when Afghan and Canadian soldiers came under small-arms fire in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan. He was 32.
Rudd, who served with The Royal Canadian Dragoons, was killed May 24, 2010, 14 years to the day of Friday’s ceremony, when an improvised explosive device detonated during a routine security operation 20 kilometers southwest of Kandahar City. He was 26 and just three weeks into his seven-month tour.
The streets recognizing the fallen soldiers will be in the Wyndfield West Phase 8B subdivision in the area of Shellard Lane and Conklin Road.
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The ceremony also marked the dedication of the Veteran’s Memorial Parkway. The former Brantford Southern Access Road was renamed in 2007 as a tribute to all veterans who served Canada. But when a ceremony planned for December of that year to mark the roadway’s opening got snowed out, the event was seriously delayed – until Friday.
“Better late than never,” said a member of the Brant Naval Veterans Association, which was behind the effort to have the city change the street name.
New signs, also unveiled on Friday, will be placed at both entry points of Veteran’s Memorial Parkway.
Leary, son of Richard and Gail Leary, was remembered on Friday by his widow, Rachel Porter. Friends since childhood, the pair married in 2002. Leary graduated from McMaster University with a BA in history but Porter said she always knew his goal was to be in the military. He completed basic officer training in September 2006 and was on his first overseas mission.
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“He is my hero,” Porter said, holding back tears.
Rudd, nicknamed the gentle giant for his towering six-foot-five height, balanced with the tenderness he showed in caring for his mother, Helen Zuidema, other family members, friends and fellow soldiers, was remembered by Christian Lillington who served with the Brantford native.
“There’s not enough time today or tomorrow to describe him completely,” said an emotional Lillington. “Whether it was his selflessness, strength, his spirit, his sometimes goofy and playful nature. He was the heartbeat of the squadron in so many ways.”
After the ceremony, Helen Zuidema said she started the day at a Brantford cemetery with some of her son’s military friends.
“I feel so blessed. All of these guys are suffering in one way or another but when we come together it’s healing.”
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