Inaugural National Peacekeepers' Day

From Saturday's Globe and Mail, which is when I should have put up this post:

Canada's international peacekeepers enjoyed a long-awaited day in the sun Saturday, with the celebration of the first-ever National Peacekeepers Day.

Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson paid tribute to their efforts at a ceremony in Ottawa, telling about 100 Canadian Forces and RCMP veterans of peacekeeping missions that they represent the very essence of Canada.

“It's who we are, its what we stand for,” said Mr. Thompson. “And it's what other nations think of when they see the Canadian Maple Leaf.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered similar sentiments in a written statement, describing peacekeeping efforts as “a symbol of our country's commitment to building a more safe and secure world.”

Like many who have worn a CF uniform at one time or another, I tend to bristle when the uninformed refer to the CF as 'peacekeepers', as though that's our soldiers' exclusive raison-d'être. Peacekeeping is a task, soldiering is a vocation. And there's a lot more to soldiering than blue-beret work: try asking someone who's worn one of those berets.

But that reaction is tied to the inappropriate amount of space peacekeeping takes up in the national consciousness, not to the role of peacekeeping itself. It is a difficult and dangerous job, and we should all be proud of those Canadians who have undertaken such missions - none more than those who actually did the job:

For the record, August 9 is National Peacekeepers Day, a date chosen in memory of the nine Canadian soldiers on peacekeeping duty in the Middle East who were killed on that day in 1974 when their plane was shot down over Syria. It was, and remains to this day, the single greatest loss of life Canada has suffered during a peacekeeping mission. In total, 164 Canadians have lost their lives while serving on peacekeeping missions.

I must offer since thanks and congratulations to Liberal MP Brent St. Denis for pushing this issue with his private member's bill, and for this clear-headed statement:

Ironically, the official declaration of a national day of honour comes at a time when the Canadian military, stretched thin by its combat role in Afghanistan, is devoting fewer resources and personnel to United Nations and other international peacekeeping missions.

But Mr. St. Denis saw no contradiction, suggesting the Afghan mission fits comfortably into Canada's traditional role.

“There are serious combat elements to it [but] when you step back the ultimate goal is not to win a war,” the Liberal MP said after the ceremony.

“The objective is peace between and among the combatants.” [Babbler's emphasis]

Well said, and well done.

To learn more about Canadian peacekeeping history, I'd suggest you browse around Peacekeeper.ca, a website created by a Canadian peacekeeping veteran. Congratulations to MCpl (Ret'd) Frank Misztal for putting it together - you can tell it's a labour of love (be sure to read his bio, it's such a typical Canadian postwar story). If you've worn the blue beret yourself, you might be interested in the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association site.