This week I had the pleasure and honour of spending some time with the Persian Gulf veterans as part of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada (PGVC) marking of the 35th Anniversary of the end of the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). The Persian Gulf War was initiated by the United States convening a coalition of 35-43 countries (number of countries depends on your source) in response to Iraq attacking and taking over Kuwait.
The fighting portion of the conflict was known as Operation Desert Storm but, not as well known, was the Canadian participation under the Canadian Operation Friction under which 4,500 Canadians were dispatched. To assist in the United Nations blockade against Iraq, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Terra Nova were sent along with supply ship HMCS Protecteur. Adding to the coalition air resources were two squadrons of CF-18s (24 aircraft) to provide combat air patrol as well as attack ground and water targets. Along with this equipment were support personnel as well as a field hospital and medical staff.
The oil well fires figured strongly in the presentation from the experience of the pilots who had to fly through clouds of oily smoke over 25,000 feet high, to others who worked on the ground wearing the same type of mask as was used for Covid-19. At the end of the day, they could squeeze oil out of these masks and that’s only what didn’t make it into their lungs. In the trenches, there would be a layer of oily sludge and everything was covered in a layer of oil as the air was impregnated with it.
Although Canada did not suffer any fatalities, there are many complaints of Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) also known as Gulf War Illness (GWI). Symptoms include chronic fatigue, cognitive disorders, muscle pain, insomnia, to name a few. The causes could be multi-fold including nerve agents such as sarin gas released atmospherically, pesticides, nerve agent pre-treatment set tablets, and oil well fires. Other causes are also under investigation. Regardless of the cause, veterans continue to have medically unexplained issues and have on recently had GWI recognized as an illness from the Gulf War by Veterans Affairs Canada.
The marking of the 35th anniversary started out in Halifax but moved to Ottawa for the 4th/5th March, 2026. It started with a wreath laying at the National Military Cemetery (part of Beechwood Cemetery) on the 4th, which was small but attended by the Honourable Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and His Excellency, Mr. Ali Alastad, Chargé d’Affairs of the Embassy of the State of Kuwait along with a few Gulf War veterans.
To see all pictures from the National Military Cemetery ceremony, CLICK HERE:
On the 5th, a larger ceremony was held at the National War Memorial where a larger group assembled, including a grade 10 class from Immaculata High School. Ten wreaths were laid and the group picture at the end included 22 Gulf War Veterans.
To see all pictures from the National War Memorial ceremony, CLICK HERE:
That afternoon, the Canadian War Museum hosting a showing Episode 4 of the documentary series “Canada Remembers Our Heroes: Operation Friction, the First Gulf War, the War to Free Kuwait”. Opening remarks were made by Minister of Veterans Affairs, Jill McKnight, Dr. Andrew Burtch of the Canadian War Museum, and Harold Davis, President of the Gulf War Veterans of Canada prior to the showing in order to give context to the audience and Immaculata students. After the presentation, remarks were provided by Brian Swidrovich of Tomega Entertainment followed by a Q&A session with three Gulf War Veterans.
To see all pictures from the documentary showing, CLICK HERE.
It should be noted that one important fact came up time and time again and that was that the Gulf War was the first time that women served in active combat roles in the Canadian Armed Forces. Although this is an important moment, it was brought to the attention of the veterans and documentary producers, by a female veteran, that throughout the entire documentary, not one woman was interviewed. Mr. Davis explained that a list of people was provided to the producers, including women’s names but that, for a variety of reasons, the women declined to be interviewed. Mr. Davis thought this unfortunate as he feels the women did not properly get credit for their service.
On another note, the Gulf War Veterans are still fighting to get their time spent in theatre recognized as wartime service rather than special duty service which will qualify them for some benefits that they are currently denied. Anything you can do to help them would be appreciated.
