Small-town mural captures small-town price of war in Canada

A small-town artistic tribute to the fallen has captured over 100 years of military history.

It is a mural, painted on an outside steel wall of the Melbourne Branch #510 of the Royal Canadian Legion, southwest of London, Ont.

From left to right, the work displays Canada's combat and peacekeeping campaigns seamlessly.

President Red Noble worked with a Ukrainian artist, now living in Sarnia, Ont. to complete the mural over five months.

The work of Ohla Kovalenko begins with First World War.

"There is the Vimy Memorial there," stated Noble in an interview with CTV News London.

From there, the black and white mural stretches on to include the Second World War, including landscapes featuring Canadian tanks and soldiers.

"And then over the door by the patio, well that is about the radio station the Canadian Forces had in Korea," continued Noble. "Then there is a tribute to the peacekeepers, the blue United Nations helmets. And then there's a more modern era including Afghanistan. We try and represent all facets of it."

That includes tributes to Melbourne's fallen.

Like many small villages and towns, the price has been high.

"We lost seven soldiers during the First World War. Remember, that is in a community that at the time was probably under 200 people.

Portraits of those lost are captured in ovals throughout the mural.

The project is funded by private and public donations.

"We are so fortunate. Many legions, especially in small towns, are really struggling, as you know," concluded Noble.