Retired Port Hope residents Vince Parbery and Fred Saman have made a small tradition of standing watch on the Victoria St. Bridge over Highway 401 each time there is a repatriation of a Canadian soldier killed in action while serving in Afghanistan.

According to both of them, they started doing this around the time Canadians began to gather on bridges in 2002 to honor the dead by waving flags and watching the hearse pass by on the Highway of Heroes.

They say they became friends through regular meetings on the Victoria St. Bridge, fondly calling it their own bridge as the years went by. Parbery says it’s only right that they spend hours standing on that spot. That bit of waiting is nothing compared to what soldiers are doing in Afghanistan, he added.

Every time a soldier is repatriated, both Parbery and Saman set up four Canadian flags and a big banner with the words “Support Our Troops” written on it. 

And despite the large crowds gathering at the bridge on repatriations, not a sound can be heard when the hearse and following vehicles actually pass underneath, Parbery says.

Both Parbery and Saman feel that paying tribute is their way of thanking those who’ve fallen for the sacrifice they’ve made.