Honouring the Sacrifice of Canadian Peacekeepers
By Albert Warson
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An often movingly poignant ceremony honouring 119 Canadian troops killed while on United Nations peacekeeping missions was staged early in August 2004 in the new Peacekeepers’ Park in Calgary, Canada.
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| Former peacekeepers and others at the unveiling ceremony of the statute of a peacekeeper presenting a doll to a child. Photo courtesy of Albert Warson | Rick Wright, a former signals captain who served in the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Middle East, recalled to a solemn, hushed audience of several hundred people how he had chatted with the crew and passengers of a Canadian aircraft in the UN service on 9 August 1974 before it left for Damascus. “We later found out it had been shot down by three missiles. No one survived. We were shocked and outraged that this could happen. It reinforced the belief that peacekeeping was a dangerous job, and this brought home in no uncertain terms just how dangerous and random peacekeeping really was.” It was the worst single Canadian peacekeeping death toll, and the date has officially been named Peacekeepers’ Day in a number of cities across Canada.
While peacekeeping, no doubt, could be dangerous, Canada has nonetheless been in the forefront of United Nations peacekeeping missions since 1948, having deployed more than 100,000 troops over the years to serve the United Nations cause for peace in places that could turn deadly dangerous in minutes. Nor has its commitment faltered. It takes more than $150 million a year to support as many as 4,500 blue-beret-wearing troops in response to UN needs.
The sacrifice of the peacekeepers from 66 UN missions who did not come home is remembered in Canada, but the most visible and permanent tribute is in the Park, at the new Garrison Green community in Calgary.
Canada Lands Company (CLC), a Crown corporation that disposes surplus federal property and returns its income to the Federal Treasury, is the master planner and developer of Garrison Green, which is part of a larger project nearing completion on a decommissioned military base. CLC spent nearly $1 million on the handsomely landscaped 1.5-acre park, in consultation with the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping (CAVUNP), which officiated at the dedication ceremony.
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| The unveiling ceremony of the statute of a peacekeeper presenting a doll to a child. Photo courtesy of Albert Warson |
The dominant features of the Park are the Wall of Honour, which bears the names of Canadian peacekeepers killed on UN assignments, and another wall with inscriptions of the countries where they served. A sculpture of a peacekeeper presenting a doll to a small child (see photo) was unveiled at the ceremony. It honours a Canadian peacekeeper who took a compassionate interest in children wherever his tour of duty took him and whose mother knitted little dolls from scrap wool to give to the children in his mission area. He was killed clearing a minefield and in his memory, his mother and other ladies across the country continue to knit for peacekeepers in his regiment to give to children. Widows and mothers of fallen soldiers were presented with various UN medals honouring their husbands and sons who were killed while on peacekeeping duty.
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| The three-way street. Photo courtesy of Albert Warson |
The Peacekeepers’ Park is at the intersection of two of thirteen streets in the new neighbourhood, named after 13 former UN peacekeepers who will be honoured with cairns bearing their names and street names, such as Dalaire Avenue for Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire, who commanded the UN Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda in 1993 and later the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda.
“Canada Lands’ redevelopment of the former Canadian Forces Base Calgary has turned the site into a coveted location for residential, office and commercial development”, said Kathy Milsom, CLC President and Chief Executive Officer, at the ceremony. “This is truly one of Canada’s most significant urban revitalization projects, and the commemoration of the site’s legacy is an essential component of its success.” Calgary has been a home base to several regiments; the Museum of the Regiments is in fact near Garrison Green.
“We have been very proud of our relationship with Canada Lands in promoting peacekeeping efforts on this site”, said Colonel (Retired) Donald S. Ethel, national President of CAVUNP. The Association has more than 1,000 members in 23 chapters across the country, which includes serving and retired Canadian military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and civilian veterans of UN peacekeeping and other non-UN missions. |
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| Albert Warson is a Toronto-based freelance writer and editor, who writes frequently for The Globe and Mail, and has contributed to The Toronto Star, The National Post and other daily newspapers and magazines in Canada and the United States. |
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