From left to right: Major (ret'd) Bob Near, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Artist Katherine Taylor and Veterans House director Ben (ret'd) Alan Mulawyshyn in front of the recently dedicated 'Army Ethos' bas-relief sculpture donated to Veterans House in Ottawa
Veterans House
By Newell Durnbrooke
Tuesday June 10, on a sunny, blustery afternoon, a small ceremony was held at Veterans House in Ottawa's Thornecliffe Park. The occasion was to formally dedicate a bronze bas-relief sculpture which symbolizes the Canadian Army's longstanding ethos: "Duty, Integrity, Discipline and Honour". Those four words are emblazoned on the artwork along with a visual montage depicting the men and women of the Canadian Army throughout its history.
On hand for the ceremony were Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, Brigadier-General (Ret'd) Alan Mulawyshyn, the executive director of Veterans House, Major (ret'd) Bob Near, the Director of the 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (4 CMBG) History Association, Ottawa City Councillors David Hill and Matt Lulloff (both members of the Ottawa Veterans Task-Force), Esprit de Corps Publisher Scott Taylor along with a number of residents of Veterans House.
Also on hand was Ottawa based artist Katherine Taylor AOCA. The 400 Kg bronze cast bas-relief image is actually based upon Katherine Taylor's original painted mural of the same theme. Mayor Sutcliffe noted in his remarks the suitability of the artwork being installed at Veterans House. This facility was first opened in 2020 by the Multi-Faith Housing Initiative (MHI) and it provides 40 apartments for heretofore homeless CAF veterans. Director Mulawyshyn pointed out that since its opening, Veterans House has been operating at full capacity with a lengthy wait-list. The overall project has been a resounding success and now that it has been proven to work in practice, MHI has plans to expand the Veterans House concept into other major Canadian cities -soon.
Maj (ret'd) Near was the driving force behind this project for over 32 years. It began with a history book -War Without Battles, detailing the Cold War years of 4 CMBG's existence. Artist Katherine Taylor had illustrated the cover of that book and the title was published by Esprit de Corps magazine. Subsequently, Near had commissioned Katherine Taylor to produce the Army Ethos montage, which eventually was replicated in the present Bas-Relief Sculpture presented to Veterans House. After more than 3 decades of determined pursuit, Near's vision has now found a home at Veterans House. Fittingly, many of Near's family were in attendance at the ceremony to witness his lengthy quest come to fruition.
