To see all the pictures from this event, CLICK HERE
It gets confusing when you have two events celebrating what appears to be the same thing. This is how it was for me as International Peacekeepers’ Day was celebrated by a remembrance ceremony at the National War Memorial (NWM) on the 29th May, 2023, and I’m used to the Peacekeepers’ Day Remembrance Ceremony held at the Reconciliation Monument on or near the 9th August every year. It’s also confusing when you see the same faces at each, both police and military veterans. Now I know the difference is in the names which define the scope of the event. The first is INTERNATIONAL Day of UN Peacekeepers and is held on May 29th. The second is the NATIONAL Peacekeepers’ Day and is on August 9th and is specific to Canada and organized by the CAVUNP.
So, with that in mind, this 20th anniversary of International Peacekeepers’ Day was recently celebrated remembering all of the UN Peacekeepers from around the world that have lost their lives in the line of duty as well as the 75th anniversary of international peacekeeping.
It was a beautiful day at the NWM with a contingent of ex-military and a contingent of police peacekeeping veterans on parade. The Indigenous community was well represented as Aurel Dubé welcomed the guests to the unceded land, both the CAF and the RCMP had their Eagle Staffs in places of honour, and Wendy Jocko, former Chief, helped with the Act of Remembrance. There were many guests of distinction including various Defence Attachés and Senator (RAdm ret’d) Rebecca Patterson and the primary speaker for the ceremony was the Minister of Veteran Affairs, Lawrence MacAulay.
All went well with only three wreaths being laid, so it was a relatively quick ceremony, although non-the-less important in remembering over 125,000 Canadians that have participated in UN Peacekeeping and those that have lost their lives, both military and police.
