Kin to gather for Kandahar cenotaph rededication

Almost 600 relatives of fallen Canadians from the Afghan war will gather in Ottawa on the weekend for the rededication of the Kandahar cenotaph.

The event comes after the Canadian Forces faced intense criticism from the families and the public when it dedicated the cenotaph in late May with only senior officials present.

The event was inexplicably kept secret for several days until the military announced it on social media. Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance later apologized for the military’s mishandling of the event.

The cenotaph at Kandahar Airfield became a symbol for many Canadians of the losses during the Afghan war. Canadian Forces personnel and Afghan employees originally built it in 2006 and added to the monument over time. On the cenotaph are plaques that honour 158 Canadian Forces members who died as well as Foreign Affairs official Glyn Berry, Calgary Herald journalist Michelle Lang, and Marc Cyr, a civilian from a company under contract to the DND.

Other plaques honour 42 U.S. military personnel and one civilian who died while serving under Canadian command. The cenotaph was dismantled and transported to Canada from Afghanistan in 2011.

For the rededication, the Canadian Forces has invited the families of the fallen to the two-day event and is paying their travel and other costs.

The Canadian Army has been put in charge of the event and planners have been working overtime to ensure the focus is on the families.

As of Thursday, 589 family members were expected to be at the ceremony on Saturday at the new National Defence headquarters in westend Ottawa.

The ceremony will be closed to the public, but the memorial will be open the next day.

“Saturday is about the families,” said Col. Stephane Dubois, an Afghan war veteran who is in charge of organizing the rededication. “We will all work toward that. We will do everything (to ensure) the families get what they need and what they deserve.”

Dubois said some families have declined to come to the event or have indicated they would prefer to visit the cenotaph at a later date on their own time.

“Grieving is a complex process,” said Dubois, who lost friends in the war and was involved in the repatriation process for the Afghan war dead. “All families are at a different stage.”

Afghan war veterans have also been invited. Each of the 46 units or formations that lost a military member has been asked to send a serving member and a retired veteran. Other veterans have also been invited.

In addition, all past Canadian commanders who lost personnel in Afghanistan have been invited.

Representatives from the U.S. and Afghan governments will also be on hand.

A total 1,100 are expected at the ceremony on Saturday.