Guardians of Freedom Memorial Unveiled in Herkimer

After years of working on the project, Herkimer County Legislator John Brezinski has seen the "Guardians of Freedom" Memorial finally come to fruition.

The unveiling of the memorial happened at a ceremony at the entrance to the New York State Thruway on Saturday afternoon and about 200 people attended.

"It was a beautiful sight," said Brezinski.

The memorial, inspired by Brezinski, is dedicated to the honor of K-9s and their handlers. The statue depicts U.S. Marine Sgt. Adam Cann, and his K-9 Bruno. Cann was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in January of 2006. His dog Bruno detected the bomb, which allowed Cann to protect the lives of fellow service members and civilians.

Cann's parents, who reside in Florida, were in attendance on Saturday.

Brezinski said Cann's father told him he was so honored over the fact that people in New York State thought enough of his son to commemorate him here in the Mohawk Valley.

Brezinski says there are future plans to add a granite wall to the memorial that will depict the names and images of fellow k-9s and dog handlers. A GoFundme page has been set up to raise the $40,000 needed to add the wall.

Brezinski says the memorial salutes all dog handlers and their k-9s, including the FBI K-9 "Ape" that died during the Kurt Meyers shooting in Herkimer in March of 2013. The 19-hour shoot out in Herkimer killed four and injured two.

Listen to John Brezinski on Keeler - Monday, October 16th.