A Sudbury man says he won't rest until his brother — a 20-year army veteran who died from suicide in 2015 — is honoured in Greater Sudbury.
Dan Unrau said his brother, John Unrau, was his hero. His world was shattered on July 1, 2015 when he news arrived his brother had shot and killed himself in Alberta. He was 42.
Cpl. John Unrau was a member of Lord Strathcona’s Horse armoured regiment in Edmonton. In his 20-year career, he had served missions in Afghanistan and Bosnia. In Afghanistan, he drove tanks.
He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as chronic pain from a foot injury that required substantial surgeries to repair it. His family believes those are what led to Cpl. Unrau taking his own life.
Dan said his brother never really talked about his tour, but had told him a few stories, questioning why he was still alive when so many other people died. He said his brother lived with a lot of guilt, because he thinks he was responsible for potentially hurting or killing children in the war.
“He must have felt very alone, because I think if he just would have been with his family, he might not have done it,” Dan said.
Cpl. Unrau was the type of guy who brought T-shirts for the children in Afghanistan, he said.
“He was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, and he brought shirts for the kids, and had them chanting, “Go, Toronto, Go,” trying to turn them into Leafs fans,” he said.
So, he's doing what he can to make sure John's home town remembers him. At first, he wanted the street where his family grew up renamed after his late brother, but has since settled on a street sign topper. He said he's talked to the city about it, and is hopeful that it will happen soon.
The brothers grew up on Rushbrook Crescent in Chelmsford. It's there Dan would like the sign topper to be placed. When his family moved there, they were one of the first families to call that street home. The brothers would spend their days at the Chelmsford Arena watching hockey games.
Dan said his brother joined the military because he wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.
“My grandfather, who served in the Second World War, suffered from PTSD, but we called it shell shock back then, and he tried to talk John out of enlisting in the military,” Dan said.
Cpl. Unrau joined the military after he graduated high school. He had been a member of the army reserves, so was well aware of what he was getting into. He was eventually stationed in Edmonton, Alta., Dan said.
He completed a nine-month tour in Afghanistan in 2005 and had been living in Edmonton up until his death in 2015.
The sign topper, Dan said, is a bit of a selfish request.
“It would bring me great honour to see my brother's name up there like that,” he said. “It's the street we grew up on, and I won't stop until that sign topper is in place.”
This past Sunday — Nov. 11 — John and Dan's mother, Dorothy Unrau, was the Silver Cross Mother at the Remembrance Day ceremony at Sudbury Arena.
Last year, she was presented with the Memorial Cross and Sacrifice Medal, an honour bestowed on mothers who have lost a soldier due to military work. The honour meant the Canadian Armed Forces acknowledged Cpl. Unrau’s death was connected to his military service. He was recognized as a casualty of war.
In a comment on Cpl. Unrau's obituary page, one of his fellow soldiers had this to say about him:
“My deepest condolences and prayers for the Unrau family. I served with John in Afghanistan. I will always remember him as a brave and good man. He was a very kind person, you could tell by his smile.
“When my patrol accidentally left me behind at a snap OP in Kabul, it was Johnny in the troop leader's call sign who came to the rescue. You should have seen him drive that Coyote in Kabul — man could he make that armoured beast fly. He was the best. Rest in peace, John, my brother in arms.”
