Remembering Captain Richard (Steve) Leary 03June2008

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

Wed Jun 4, 7:32 PM

By Tamara King, The Canadian Press

SHILO, Man. - They were together for more than half their lives, having been a couple since high school, and were best friends.


Rachel Leary, whose husband Capt. Richard Steve Leary was the latest Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan, described him as a brave and dedicated man.


Leary, 32, was killed Tuesday when a patrol he was leading was ambushed outside Kandahar.


"He believed in what he was doing, and he was dedicated to all his guys," Leary said through tears, reading from a prepared statement at Canadian Forces Base Shilo.


For nearly two years, the couple had called Shilo home. Richard Leary was often called "Rich" by his colleagues on the base, a military spokeswoman said.


Whenever her husband was away, Leary said she always knew how much he cared.


"No matter where he was, whether he was training or ... I never doubted how much he loved or missed me," said Leary, 29.


"He was my very best friend, and a wonderful husband."


The Learys, who met in their hometown of Brantford, Ont., have been together since he was 16 and she was 14, Richard's aunt, Terry Careswell, told the Brantford Expositor on Tuesday.


They were to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary in August, said Lori Truscott, a military spokeswoman based at Shilo.


As Leary read her statement, she was surrounded by soldiers and flanked by Wanda Watkins, the mother of Pte. Lane Watkins, a Manitoba soldier who was killed last summer in Afghanistan.


"I want every Canadian out there to know that every soldier has someone behind them who loves them and supports them and sacrifices for them," said Leary, her voice shaking.


Asking for privacy to deal with her grief and emotions, Leary did not take reporters' questions.


Richard Leary is also survived by his parents Richard and Gail, and his sister Brandi.


In Afghanistan, thousands of NATO soldiers attended a ramp ceremony Wednesday that marked Leary's final journey home.


A military ceremony is planned for Friday at CFB Trenton in Ontario.

 

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

Thank you Captain Leary for your dedication and sacrifice.

To his wife, family, friends and brothers in arms, I wish to thank you for your sacrifice, the cost is high, but he will not be forgotten.
I hope you can find peace in your lives again.

This Friday, I will wear my red shirt, take my Canadian flag and go down to the overpass of the Highway Of Heroes to say I am thinking of you and all the others that have passed underneath and to all those still serving. 
Thank you, Robin

 

[The Bread Guy]

Updating this thread instead of starting new one because City of Brantford is working on a concrete token of remembrance - shared with the usual disclaimer.

City will honour fallen soldier
Concert dedicated to Leary 'Local hero' who died in Afghanistan will have name added to memorial
Michael-Allan Maron, Brantford Expositor, 27 Oct 08
Article link

City council is expected to agree tonight to add a dedication to Capt. Richard Steve Leary and the Canadian mission in Afghanistan onto the Brant War Memorial.  Council will also consider another recommendation, endorsed unanimously by councillors last week, to honour the memory of the Brantford soldier, who died in Afghanistan in June, by adding his name to the municipality's list of potential street names. The requests come from the Brant Memorial Committee.  "We're looking forward to this going ahead," Derek Pite, memorial committee member, said in an interview Sunday.  "It's been a tradition to put the names of those in our community who made the supreme sacrifice, at the earliest date (on the memorial). We were hoping to have it ready in time for this Remembrance Day in a couple of weeks. I hope it's still possible."  The committee proposes to put the inscription on a blank panel to the right of one that contains the inscription for local soldiers who died in the Korean conflict. The style of lettering would match the existing names of veterans who fell in that war.  The inscription would have "Afghanistan" centred at the top of the panel and the name R. S. Leary with no rank, inscribed below in the middle, because other names might have to be added later, to appear in alphabetical order.  The proposal also must be cleared through the heritage committee as part of final approval.  "It's only appropriate that we recognize Capt. Leary in such a manner," said Mayor Mike Hancock ....

More on link

 

[The Bread Guy]

It's a go - shared with the usual disclaimer...

Fallen soldier's name will be put on war memorial
Brantford Expositor, 28 Oct 08
Article link

The name of Brantford's Capt. Richard Steve Leary, who died in Afghanistan, will be inscribed on the Brant War Memorial.  City council approved with no debate Monday a resolution to add a dedication to a panel of the cenotaph to the local soldier who died in battle in June while deployed to Afghanistan.  The inscription, under the title Afghanistan, will go on a blank panel to the right of the one that contains the inscription for local solders who died in the Korean conflict. The style of lettering will match the existing names of veterans who fell in that war.  Leary, 32, a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was killed on June 3 following a prolonged gun battle with insurgents in Afghanistan's Panjawaii district. He was on his first overseas deployment.  At the time, he was the 84th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since 2002.  The inscription comes from a request by the Brant Memorial Committee. Council has also decided to add the Leary name to the municipality's list of potential street names.

 

[Lake Sup]

Capt. Leary was the course officer on my PPCLI battle school a few winters ago. He was a funny guy when his NCOs where not around, but when they where he could turn it on just like they could. i remember when i seen him doing PT for the first time in the light because we usually ran before the sun came up. But this one morning he decided to take us to the CQC gym for some circuit training and i seen he was built like a brick *cough* house. Although he was a shorter man he could still PT a bunch of 18 yr olds into the ground. He was a good leader and mentor.
RIP    Sir