Afghan cenotaph rebuild delayed by U.S. hurricanes
Natural disasters in the U.S. have caused a minor delay in the rebuilding of an Afghan war cenotaph in Ottawa but the Canadian military hopes to have the project completed by the end of the month.
The official opening for the Kandahar Airfield Cenotaph, however, won’t take place until next year.
The memorial to fallen Canadian troops, which had originally been built at the base in Kandahar, has been relocated to the new Department of National Defence headquarters in the west end of Ottawa.
It is being reconstructed there and a building is being erected around it to protect the cenotaph from the harsh weather.
The original plan was to have the work completed by Nov. 9 in time for Remembrance Day.
But the hurricanes that recently hit Florida and Texas caused delays in getting some of the needed construction materials to Canada, said Forces spokesman Maj. Mario Couture.
Indoor trees were being shipped from Florida and special glass panes were coming from Texas.
Couture said the work is expected to be completed by Nov. 28.
When finished, the pavilion housing the cenotaph will be accessible to military personnel and civilian DND employees at the defence headquarters on Carling Avenue in Ottawa.
But the official opening will take place sometime in the spring, Couture said. By then landscaping around the site will have been completed.
The cenotaph at Kandahar Airfield, built by Canadian Forces personnel and Afghan employees, became a symbol for many Canadians of the losses endured in the Afghan war.
On the cenotaph are plaques that honour Canadian Forces members who died as well as Foreign Affairs official Glyn Berry, Calgary Herald journalist Michelle Lang, and Marc Cyr, a civilian from SNC Lavalin, a company under contract to the DND. Other plaques on the cenotaph honour the U.S. military who died while serving under Canadian command.
DND officials concluded the cenotaph would not survive an Ottawa winter if left outdoors and required a building to be constructed around it.
Military officers considered several sites in Ottawa for the reconstructed cenotaph, including at Dow’s Lake, the Beechwood Cemetery and the Canadian War Museum.
A military advisory group noted the criteria for the location should consider sanctity to be the most important, followed by visibility and accessibility for the cenotaph.
Some Afghan veterans have argued that the cenotaph should have been located near Parliament Hill.
Retired colonel Pat Stogran has said the cenotaph should be in a highprofile location in downtown Ottawa, where it would remind Canadians of the sacrifices that have been made in the Afghan war. Stogran, who fought in Afghanistan and later became the veterans ombudsman, said the cenotaph should not be located at the new DND headquarters at the former Nortel complex, as few members of the public will ever see it.
DND officials have said they are working on ways to allow the public to eventually have access to the cenotaph.
Another cenotaph in honour of those killed in Afghanistan was erected at Camp Mirage, the Canadian base in the United Arab Emirates. It was brought back to Canada and installed at the National Air Force Museum at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont. It consists of a pyramidlike cairn, two walls and a plaque. There is also a raised Canadian flag.