PK75: The Commemoration Event

Remembering Our Fallen from 75 years of Peacekeeping

The year 2023 marks two peacekeeping milestones — the 75th anniversary of the first United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operation (UNTSO), and the 35th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize for UN Peacekeepers. To commemorate those who lost their lives in the furtherance of Canada's peacekeeping goals,

CPVA hosted an event at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on 29 May 2023.

On a beautiful and sunny day in Ottawa, past and present military, police and civilian members of various peacekeeping operations gathered to commemorate those Canadians who lost their lives in pursuit of our goal of peace. CPVA hosted this commemoration along with an educational presentation afterwards in the Shaw Centre, with gracious support from Veterans Affairs Canada and the United Nations Association in Canada. Lawrence MacAulay, then-Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada, attended and spoke at the service.

At the commemoration, CPVA National President Donald MacPherson delivered the following speech on our reasons for gathering:

Unlike the two world wars, when virtually everyone in Canada knew a friend, neighbour, or family member who was killed or died, when we commemorate our fallen Peacekeepers, many of us may find it far more difficult to personalize our thoughts and prayers. 

After all, of the more than 130,000 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers who left home to deploy for months or years on dangerous peacekeeping missions abroad, the deaths of 140 of them, spread out over the past 75 years, may not seem like a very large number.  But to those of us who knew them, those of us who lost friends and comrades, any number is too large, and the feeling of personal loss will never disappear. 

And of course it would be much, much worse for the families of those who died, and no well-meaning expressions of condolence will ever ease their pain and suffering. Some families will wonder why their beloved husband or wife, son or daughter, father or mother, was in that far away land in the first place, and in their grief and suffering would quite rightly demand to know why it was so important for Canadian peacekeepers to be there. 

Unfortunately, clear and meaningful answers are not so easy to find. However, from the perspective of many of the peacekeeping veterans you see before you on parade today, we can only tell you that we have often seen the tremendous good that can come from peacekeeping in war-torn and conflict affected regions. That good is not always measured in achievement of lofty strategic-level goals and ambitions, but for many of us, it may be measured in small, incremental, and more personal ways. 

It might be the satisfaction of seeing farmers fields made safe by the removal of land mines, or roads opened, or bridges constructed, all to allow farmers to harvest their crops and make their way to a village market to sell their wares, sometimes for the first time in many years. 

Personal satisfaction might come from visiting an elderly couple who finally feel safe and secure enough to return to their ancestral home because the fighters who threatened them – for no reason other then their ethnicity – are no longer a threat. 

Or – and this happens often wherever Canadian peacekeepers are found – success can be measured by the smiles on the faces of young orphans who now have a roof over their heads, fresh water to drink and food in their bellies, clothes to wear, and even toys that have been handmade by unknown family members of the peacekeepers who come from a far-off land named Canada. 

We peacekeepers have witnessed the worst of what conflict can inflict, but have also been privileged to help bring peace, stability, and humanity to the innocent. We volunteered to serve our own country so that our families can live in peace, and we can think of no endeavour more honorable and more satisfying than helping others less fortunate to achieve the same for their families, regardless of what country they inhabit. 

It is, therefore, our greatest hope that the families of those 136 Canadian Peacekeepers who died due to sickness or accident, or who were killed as a result of a malicious act, can find some measure of comfort in knowing that their loved ones believed in what they were doing, and were probably heartened by their own individual measures of success that they witnessed around them as a direct result of their own, individual peacekeeping services. 

At the educational event at the Shaw Centre later that afternoon, hosted by our own Bob Chaloux and Jane Boissonneault (who also have their stories included in our Peacekeeping Anthology), Donald MacPherson again delivered comments about the event:

On this very special day of 29 May, recognized every year around the world as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association welcome you to a celebration of 75 years of United Nations Peacekeeping. 

This morning at the National War Memorial, the Minister of Veterans Affairs led Canadians in a commemoration service to honour the sacrifice of the 140 Canadian Peacekeepers – Military, RCMP, Police Services, and Civilians – who died or were killed while serving abroad on peacekeeping missions over the past 75 years. Having so honoured those whom we lost, this afternoon we now turn our attention towards celebrating the amazing contributions Canada has made to world peace, through the deployment of more than 130,000 of its citizens as Canadian Peacekeepers serving on virtually every United Nations mission, from Egypt to Mali. Many Canadians also saw peacekeeping service outside of the United Nations construct, with multinational organizations such as the European Union, the African Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Multinational Force and Observers. 

This is a record of which Canada can rightly be proud – and indeed they are, for in poll after poll, year after year, Canadians rank peacekeeping as one of the most important roles for our military and police, and they steadfastly take pride in knowing that Canada is well represented on the international stage. They are confident that our peacekeepers go about their daily work, accomplish their mission with determination and skill, and without fanfare, for quiet professionalism is a hallmark of Canadian peacekeepers. Despite the solid level of support, however, most Canadians know very little about the real work that peacekeepers do, or what they sacrifice, contribute, and achieve in their time on mission. 

So, in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada and the United Nations Association in Canada, and with the tremendous support provided by the International Police Peacekeeping and Peace Operations program of the RCMP, today we hope to shed some light on this proud Canadian heritage by offering this afternoon of multigenerational activities and exhibits. At the end of the day, we hope you will have learned a bit more about peacekeeping than you did when you arrived. We also hope you will have some fun and will take advantage of the opportunity to meet peacekeepers and hear their stories.

But as important as it is to shine that light on peacekeepers today, CPVA has found a way to reach a much broader audience through creation of a peacekeeping anthology containing the individual biographies, photos, and peacekeeping anecdotes of more than 100 Canadian peacekeepers from across Canada. The anthology will be distributed freely to schools throughout Canada to provide teachers with an additional, online resource for their students to consider Canada’s National Day of Peacekeeping, Veterans Week, Aboriginal Veterans Day, and Remembrance Day, and will offer students an opportunity to experience peacekeeping through the eyes of individual Canadian Peacekeepers. 

The Anthology is our way of saying thank you to all 130,000 Canadian peacekeepers, to celebrate their achievements, to understand their frustrations, and to share their pride in their personal and individual contributions towards world peace. Ladies and gentlemen, we are happy you are with us today to witness the Anthology’s unveiling, to take place in just a few minutes.