L-580 honors fallen Canadian troops

Memorial by Steve Sweeney stands at Halifax dockyards

IN THE PLATE and boiler shop at the federal dockyards in Halifax, Nova Scotia, home to the Canadian navy’s Atlantic fleet, stands a Boilermaker-crafted monument to the nation’s military men and women who have died in Afghanistan. Built from a tool box, the memorial includes brass plates with the names of the fallen. Atop the memorial, a Canadian flag stands at half staff.

“I looked my son in the eyes and told him, ‘Go back to sleep. You’re sleeping in a hero’s room.’ ”
— L-580 member Steve Sweeney

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Retired Local 580 member Steve Sweeney stands beside the Canadian troop memorial he created at the Halifax, Nova Scotia, dockyards.

Local 580 member Steve Sweeney, now retired, designed and built the memorial. He was inspired by the sacrifices made by Canada’s soldiers, especially an incident that touched his own family. The Sweeney’s live in a home once owned by the father of Private Nathan Smith, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2002. Sweeney recalled what happened on the night they learned of Smith’s death. “My son came downstairs and said he could not sleep because he was in Nathan’s room. I looked my son in the eyes and told him, ‘Go back to sleep. You’re sleeping in a hero’s room.’ ” His son slept the rest of the night.

On the very next day, Sweeney began work on the memorial.

Sweeney retired on July 31 after 35 years of service. “On the day before I retired, I put up one more name [on the memorial], hoping it was the last one, number 151, of the brave young men and woman who have paid the ultimate price for us.”

Local 580 member Chrisanna Doyle has taken on the responsibility of keeping up the memorial, said the lodge’s president, Bob Fish. “I know Chrisanna will do a great job looking after this, the same as Steve did.” He added, “When top-rank military officers tour the plate and boiler shop, they have great comments about the monument that Steve started.”

Eastern Canada IVP Ed Power noted, “The monument Brother Sweeny has constructed is not only a testament to the brave Canadians who have died in Afghanistan, it is also a memorial of respect to the mothers and fathers who have lost a child due to the conflict there.”