Red Friday Rally Part Two

I was there, were you?

Today Edmonton held it's first Red Friday Rally. It was cold with a bitter wind. I first drove by around 11:30 am and there was already quite a few people there probably around 100. (Picture #1). At about 5 minutes before noon, when I arrived for the show there were a few hundred. (Picture #2). As the clock at the tower of city hall struck 12:00, there were people coming in to Sir Winston Churchill Square from all directions. As the proceedings started, I would guess there was somewhere around 600 to 700 people. (Picture #3). Not as many as I would have liked to have seen though. A group of students from Grades 3 and 5 at Edmonton Garrison’s Guthrie School Started things off by singing O'Canada. (Picture#4). Shawn Hlookoff Brought tears to many eyes when he took the stage and performed "Soldier". (Picture#5). The absolutely most memorable moment was when Master Cpl. Paul Franklin addressed the crowd. (Picture#6). Franklin Lost both his legs when the vehicle he was in was blown up by a suicide bomber.

"You wear red to help us help you, And I just want to say 'thank you very much. Years ago we didn't have this support. But now when you go on missions you don't even have to think about how Canadians support us. We know, It's a given. After my attack and during my recovery I found it difficult to put on this uniform, but we know as we head out those gates that no matter what, Canadians across this land support what we do. Days like these make me proud to be a soldier"

One comment made amongst the crowd that I can't help but write about. A mother walked by me with three children. One was complaining about being cold(I think). She simply said, "Your father didn't complain when he was in Afghanistan, you should not be complaining here." Silence followed that statement.

One thing that did surprize me as I walked about taking my photo's. There was not one single 'anti war' or 'bring the troops home' sign or protester anywhere to be seen.

Thank you Edmonton for Supporting Our Troops!

For some strange reason, blogger would not allow me to place all the pictures into this post. I did a small work around. Please "click on the images to see a larger version. Sorry for the inconvienence.