Ceremony to honour Canadian peacekeepers killed in action

Calgarians are invited to honour and remember the more than 300 Canadians who have been killed in war zones while keeping the peace.

Held in remembrance of nine Canadian peacekeepers killed on Aug. 9, 1974 — when their aircraft was shot down over Syria — Peacekeepers Day honours every Canadian peacekeeper killed in the line of duty.

Canada has a long history as United Nations peacekeepers, deploying members on more than two dozen missions for the UN.

“Canada’s first peacekeeping mission was in Egypt in 1956 between the Egyptians and the Israelis,” said Rick Wright, vicepresident of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping (CAVUNP).

Peacekeepers are civilian, police or military personnel who are sent into areas of conflict to help create conditions for peace by deescalating tensions between warring factions.

“That’s the traditional type of peacekeeping operation that people think of,” Wright says. “We haven’t been in that kind of tradi- tional peacekeeping type operation for about 25 years.”

However, despite changes in how they go about a mission, Wright noted that Canadian peacekeepers are still at risk while deployed on Peace Support Operations, which may include aiding humanitarian efforts, reconstruction and enforcement.

“Most of the Peace Support Operations entail the possibility, and almost a certainty, of having to get into firefights with either or both of the warring factions,” Wright said. “So, it’s an escalation of what the original idea of the UN peacekeepers were all about.”

Wright said that the goal of Peacekeepers Day is not to take away from Remembrance Day or other celebrations that honour veterans, but to show support for Canada’s peacekeepers, both past and present.

“There are a tremendous amount of (soldiers) out there that need people to remember that the Canadian government still sends people on these types of missions,” he said.

The memorial event will include a reading of the names of peacekeepers killed in action and a wreath-laying ceremony.

Calgary veterans and their families will attend the ceremony, as will members of Veterans Affairs Canada, the 41 Canadian Brigade Group and guest of honour, Darrel Janz.