Military Legacy

In October 1959, at the end of his six-month peacekeeping tour in Egypt, Sergeant Bill Johnson of the Royal Canadian Engineers prepared to relinquish his duties and looked forward to returning home. Johnson had been assigned to the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF1), the UN’s first armed peacekeeping mission. Created in response to the 1956 Sinai War, UNEF1 supervised the removal of British, French and Israeli forces from Egypt, and served as a buffer between Egyptian and Israeli forces until 1967.

On October 20, 1959, Sgt. Johnson’s jeep hit a landmine, causing grievous injuries that included the loss of both legs. Following an honourable discharge and two years of convalescence at the Colonel Belcher Hospital in Calgary, Johnson began a successful career with Chevron Canada. He maintained his military ties as a stalwart member of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping. In both organizations, Johnson worked hard to improve the benefits due to former Peacekeepers with disabilities.

While on United Nations duty during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, then-Lieutenant Alain Forand - at great personal risk - crawled into a minefield to rescue one of his wounded soldiers, for which he was awarded the Star of Courage. Major-General Forand later earned the Meritorious Service Cross for his work in Croatia, where in 1995 he guaranteed the safety of 1,200 Serbs who sought protection. Throughout his 33-year military career, Major-General Forand excelled at all levels of command both across Canada and abroad. He served with the NATO Forces in Germany, and with United Nations Forces in Western Sahara, Cyprus and Croatia. He commanded Land Force Quebec Area during the catastrophic 1998 ice storm and directed the work of over 12,000 soldiers during the crisis. A tremendous soldier and leader, General Forand was well known for his tenacity, personal courage and dedication. He retired in 2000.

In the summer of 1992, Sergeant "Mike" Ralph was assigned to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), whose mandate was to create conditions of peace and security in parts of war-torn Yugoslavia. A career soldier, Ralph was trained as a combat engineer and served as the non-commissioned officer of a Canadian Engineer landmine clearance team. On August 17, 1992, Ralph returned to double-check a minefield that had been cleared the previous day. He was killed by an exploding booby trap that his colleagues had missed inadvertently.

UNPROFOR was initially established in Croatia with the primary mandate to create conditions of peace and security required for the negotiation of the settlement of the Yugoslav crisis. As fighting intensified the mission's mandate was extended to Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Macedonia. Ralph's death was one of 167 United Nations fatalities during UNPROFOR's three-year mission between 1992 and 1995.

Between 1974 and 1990, Master Warrant Officer Donald Lionel McLean served in the Army maintenance units in four United Nations peacekeeping missions, including the Middle East (1974), Cyprus (1982), Golan Heights (1985-86), and Namibia (1989-90). During his 32- year career, McLean rose from junior to senior positions in field and maintenance workshops. Through his peacekeeping role, his numerous tours with NATO and his service with the Airborne Regiment, McLean's exemplary standard in the performance of his duties, and his loyalty, integrity and professionalism served as examples for his superiors, peers and subordinates alike. As a member of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping (CAVUNP), McLean worked tirelessly to expand the membership and assist peacekeeping veterans in need.

With 14 tours of peacekeeping duty during his 38-year military career, Don Ethell is considered Canada's most experienced Peacekeeper. He rose through the ranks from Private to Colonel, and served in five countries in the Middle East, in Central America, with NATO in Germany, as a Reconnaissance Sergeant in Cyprus, as a Commander of two Canadian contingents during the Gulf War, and as Canadian Head of Mission in Bosnia and Croatia during the Balkan wars in 1992. Among his many decorations, Col. Ethell was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for organizing and commanding two large exchanges of bodies and Prisoners-of-War between Israel and Syria in 1986.

During his tenure as Director of Peacekeeping Operations for the Department of National Defence (1987-90), Col. Ethell oversaw the acceleration of Canada's peacekeeping commitments. During that time he was seconded to the United Nations for individual intervention into conflict in Central America, and the operational plan he proposed was adopted for use by the UN force in the region. Ethell was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2001.

On July 17, 1950, Acting Brigadier Harry Herbert Angle became the first of many Canadians to die while on duty as a Peacekeeper with the United Nations. A highly decorated World War II veteran, Brigadier Angle had served on a number of tours as the Chief Military Observer with the United Nations Military Observer Group India Pakistan (UNMOGIP). UNMOGIP had been deployed in January 1949 to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan over the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. While attempting to organize a ceasefire in Kashmir, Brigadier Angle was killed in an aircraft crash. Half a century after his death, United Nations field observation teams remained stationed on both sides of the Line of Control that separated Indian and Pakistani forces.

Known as "Mister Peacekeeper," Colonel John Gardam - author of such books as Canadians in War and Peacekeeping (2000) and The Canadian Peacekeeper (1992) - knew whereof he wrote. As part of his 38-year military career between 1947 and 1984, Gardam served in Egypt with the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), the peacekeeping mission that allowed for the peaceful extraction of French, British, and Israeli forces following the Suez Crisis of 1956, and created a buffer between Egyptian and Israeli forces until 1967. Gardam received the UNEF medal for this service. He also served with the Royal Canadian Artillery, Lord Strathcona's Horse, and as a commissioned officer with the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Gardam played an important role in the design and construction of the Canadian National Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa and served as the key participant for many ceremonies associated with peacekeeping.

Staff Sergeant Joseph Marquis was the first Canadian Peacekeeper to die serving on an armed United Nations mission. Marquis served with the 57th Canadian Signals Unit as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC), a 19,000-strong force created in 1960 to bring law and order to the newly independent African nation, and to halt Belgian intervention in its former colony. At the same time military forces arrived, UN civilian experts were rushed in to help ensure the continued operations of essential public services. ONUC's civilian aid component was the UN's largest single programme of assistance up to that time.

Marquis was killed January 20, 1962. He was one of 245 military personnel killed during ONUC's four-year mission. In September 2001, Marquis' family was presented with the Canadian Memorial Cross, symbolic of those soldiers who died while on duty for Canada.

In the early 1990s, the eyes of the world were on the United Nations Protection Force in Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR) and its Canadian Chief of Staff, Major-General Lewis MacKenzie. Besieged in the midst of the Bosnian civil war, General 'Lew' and the UN Forces under his command kept open the Sarajevo airport for delivery of humanitarian relief. In his 33 years of military service, MacKenzie accumulated more peacekeeping experience, in more ranks and appointments, than any other Canadian. His military and peacekeeping service ranged from Germany to Vietnam, and from Central America to Cyprus and the Middle East. He is the only Canadian to have been awarded the Meritorious Service Cross twice. After retiring in 1993, MacKenzie became a best-selling author, lecturer and frequent media commentator. He is regarded as one of the world's most experienced Peacekeepers.

In September 1995, while on duty as a United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) in war-torn Croatia, Major Bruce Henwood suffered grievous injuries when his patrol vehicle struck an antitank mine. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Henwood had enjoyed a promising career as an officer, including service with the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), the South Alberta Light Horse, the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's), and Royal Canadian Dragoons, with whom he served in Germany.

A British army officer saved Henwood's life when his vehicle exploded, but his injuries - which required the amputation of both legs below the knees - ended Henwood's career. For his actions in Croatia, and in recognition of his courage and perseverance during two years of gruelling rehabilitation, Henwood received the Land Force Commander's Commendation. He became an inspiration for fellow Peacekeepers, particularly those who suffered physical and mental injuries.

As commander of the United Nations Observer Mission in Uganda and Rwanda (UNOMUR) in 1993-94, General Roméo Dallaire strove to prevent the bloody conflict between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis in Rwanda. But his warnings went unheeded and his repeated requests for additional forces were declined. In the bloodshed that followed, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed, along with a number of General Dallaire's forces. On his return to Canada, Dallaire passionately communicated the need for a comprehensive mandate and full Security Council support for future UN missions. Dallaire served more than 35 years in the Canadian Forces, including tours with NATO in Germany and as a Peacekeeper in Cyprus. His open declaration of his difficulties in dealing with the Rwanda massacres helped bring attention to and acceptance of Operational Stress Injuries, specifically Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, experienced by military and civilian personnel who have witnessed traumatic events.

During an 18-year career with the Canadian Forces Sergeant, Tom Hoppe saw service with Lord Strathcona's Horse, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, 8th Canadian Hussars, and New Zealand's Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifle

While serving as the commander of an observation post between Muslim and Serb forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNPROFOR), Hoppe and his men came under attack on several occasions. In three separate incidents in 1994, Sgt. Hoppe rescued colleagues and civilians - including a group of stranded children under direct small arms fire. In recognition of his heroic actions in the Balkans, Hoppe was awarded the Medal of Bravery and the Meritorious Service Cross, becoming the first Canadian Peacekeeper cited for bravery twice in one tour. Following his retirement from the Canadian Forces, Hoppe fought successfully for programs and benefits to assist veterans. Officials in the departments of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada have recognized and sought his advice and leadership.