Each and every day we all takes footsteps. We take them for our daily walks. We take them to school and to play. We will take them to work each and every day. We not only take these footsteps for granted,we take them without any fear. We all walk freely everyday of our lives. While we live to walk freely in our safe and secure cities, towns and villages across our lands without hesitation or fear there are those among us who’s simple footstep may be their last on earth. Our Veteran’s. These Heroes who get up somewhere on earth each and every day in a far off land and here at home to protect these footsteps we all enjoy. They protect all of us and our loved ones and all of values we have today in this life. ​ Imagine for a moment in your daily life before your day begins and wonder if you will be coming home to your family and loved ones that night? Knowing that when you leave your home the slightest contact with an IED could mean the end of your life. The loss of one or more of your limbs or eyesight and also knowing that if you survive such a trauma, the effects of PTSD that may await you in your future and can remain for the rest of their lives. No matter which freedoms you and I have enjoyed in our lifetime. They are all a direct result of our Heroes who fought both past and present who sacrificed all they had, gave one hundred percent effort so we may live in peace and have all that we have today. Whatever brings joy into your life and all the love you have in your heart today was supplied and made possible by those who fought and those who continue to fight each and every day to let us all be free to choose our life’s path forward. Free of charge and of any obligation to you or I. We live our lives in peace and comfort while they ask for nothing in return. A Veteran is someone who at some point in his or her life wrote a blank cheque payable to their homeland for an amount of “Up to and Including My Life” so we may all have the freedoms we enjoy. So please do not take these footsteps you take every day for granted. Someone, somewhere is sacrificing so much for you. Take these precious footsteps and enjoy your life and all that life has to offer and support our Veterans both past and present letting them know that they are in our thoughts and prayers each and every day and that they will “NEVER WALK ALONE”

Hello, my name is Stuart Lyall and this story begins in Saint Andre Sur Orne France in 1944. That is where my father Lance Corporal George Lyall of the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment (RHR) was wounded in WW2 and taken prisoner by the Germans. My Father along with other POW's were loaded into a small railcar and the doors were shut and locked tight.The railcar was then pushed into the baking sun where they were left to die. Some were already dead and the remaining prisoners were wounded to various degrees with their prospects of survival grim at best. My father was later quoted in a newspaper article saying. "The stench of rotting flesh and death were almost unbearable". He managed to break a small hole in the side of the railcar so he could breathe some fresh air in an effort to stay alive. After days in the sun an American patrol moved into the town. As the Germans fled the Americans opened the doors and found and saved my Father. Since that day four generations of my family are here today. My Father went on to live until 92 years of age leaving his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It has never been lost on me that if it were not for the Americans, none of us would be here. It is from the hands of the US Military that we are all here enjoying life and all the freedoms they have afforded us. He said he survived in that railcar bonding with soldiers from Canada and Australia until they were liberated. From there onto the Basingstoke Military Hospital in England on to be with family in the Scottish Highlands and back home to Canada. While this is my story of my existence. I am not alone in this Freedom we all enjoy. There are many other families over many generations who owe a debt of gratitude to all who serve for the liberty and protection of this incredible way of life and all the Freedom we have.