It’s not unusual to see tributes to the three fallen RCMP officers at the new monument in Moncton, but the wife of one Mountie says one gesture in particular has really touched her heart.
Visitors pay their respects daily at the memorial, with the life-size bronze statues of constables Doug Larche, Dave Ross and Fabrice Gevaudan often surrounded by cyclists, runners and their own families.
“It seems to be there’s always something left. It’s nice to see Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview still coming out,” says Nadine Larche.
Larche’s family visits the memorial often, and Sunday morning Nadine noticed something new – a medal from the Legs for Literacy Run, held this past weekend.
“I was hit with so many emotions,” she says. “I was grateful and thankful somebody thought of Doug that way, and sad that Doug wasn’t there to earn his own, and the loss for me and the girls that we can’t see Doug run anymore.”
In addition to being remembered as a father and husband, Nadine says her husband felt most at home in his running shoes, whether he was tackling half-marathons, or the Halifax Navy 10K.
“Running was just a part of who Doug was. He did it every day,” she says.
The medal hits particularly close to home as Doug finished his first marathon at the Legs for Literacy Run six years ago, and that medal is included in the intricately-detailed memorial.
“I put the Legs for Literacy one because it’s the most important one to him and to me,” says Nadine.
She found out Monday who left the medal, but says she plans to keep their identity a secret. She says that person knows how much her family treasures the gesture.
“He was a police officer. He was a dad. He was a husband. He was a runner. He was a friend,” says Nadine. “He was many things, but definitely running is something that was always with Doug and was deep within himself.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Cami Kepke
