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Act of Remembrance: Local veteran provides Highway of Heroes sticker to emergency services

August 28, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For nearly 20 years, Dufferin County veteran Chris Skalozub has run a local initiative to have Highway of Heroes stickers on every emergency service vehicle in the community.

“As a legionnaire and a veteran, I want to keep remembrance around. When people ask me why I do this, I say it’s my way of saying thank you,” explained Skalozub, who currently serves as Branch Service Officer for Veterans at the Shelburne Legion.

Skalozub started the Highway of Heroes decal initiative with his best friend and fellow veteran, Robert “Bob” Marston. The initiative gets its namesake from the Highway of Heroes, a 170-km stretch of Highway 401 from the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton to Toronto, which pays tribute to fallen Canadian soldiers.

Skalozub served from 1973 to 1974 as a medical assistant in the Canadian Forces and completed one tour in Germany. Marston, who was Canadian, was a veteran from the United States and served during the Vietnam War conflict.

The duo continued to run the Highway of Heroes decal initiative together until Marston’s death in March of 2019. Following Martson’s passing, his wife, Joan Crawford, began assisting with the initiative to carry on her husband’s legacy.

Skalozub recently presented the Shelburne & District Fire Department (SDFD) and the Dufferin County Paramedic Service with new decals for their emergency vehicles.

“Shelburne & District Fire Department is proud to display the Highway of Heroes Support Our Troops decals on all fire apparatus. It’s a small item, but for all our volunteer firefighters, a significant gesture to honour the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty serving our great nation,” said Shelburne Fire Chief Dave Pratt.

“Dufferin County Paramedic Service is proud to honour our fallen soldiers by displaying the Highway of Heroes decal on our ambulances and emergency response vehicles. These brave individuals made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the freedoms we enjoy every day,” said Gary Staples, Chief of Dufferin County Paramedic Services.

While the decals commemorate the sacrifices of Canadian veterans, they are also used as a way to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of first responders.

“They have the status of being called a veteran, and can become a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. It’s how we appreciate their service,” said Skalozub.

Each year, Skalozub provides between 14 to 20 sets of decals to the different emergency service departments in Dufferin County. The cost of creating the decals comes out of Skalozub’s own pocket, with a single decal averaging anywhere from $1.90 to $3.

After almost two decades of running the initiative, Skalozub expresses pride in the longevity of the movement and said he plans to continue with the initiative as an act of remembrance

“I think it’s a fabulous thing to see, and I love seeing out vehicles when they go by and knowing I did that,” concluded. Skalozub.

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