With a replica of the giant anteater in the foreground amid songs and prayers, a tearful President Irfaan Ali last evening named the Eccles-Great Diamond Four-lane road, Heroes Highway in honour of the five members of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who died in the December 6 helicopter crash, stating that it represented their legacy of strength and hope.
Surrounded by six former heads of the GDF and present Chief of Staff Omar Khan, President Ali honoured Brigadier (retired) Gary Beaton, Colonel Michael Shahoud, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles, Lieutenant Colonel Sean Welcome, and Staff Sergeant Jason Khan.
Many paid tributes in songs and prayers to the fallen five and cried at the official opening of the roundabout which will create an interlink with the three counties: Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice. The names of the deceased will be etched on the anteater monument and as soon as today there will be a plinth between Eccles and the present road, which will also have their names and those of any other man or woman in uniform who dies in the line of duty.
