Topic: Afghan memorials (other than the Kandahar cenotaph) - merged

[milnews.ca]

This from the VAC Info-machine - highlights mine:

The Honourable Erin O’Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today that two memorials will be created in the nation’s capital to pay tribute to Canada’s Afghanistan mission and to Victoria Cross recipients. He was joined by the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Minister responsible for the National Capital Commission, and Pierre Lemieux, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

The National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan and the National Victoria Cross Memorial will be placed at Richmond Landing, along Confederation Boulevard, as part of the new Memorial Route. This beautiful green space on the bank of the Ottawa River has views of Parliament Hill and will provide a quiet yet prominent place for Canadians and visitors to reflect on Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, and to read the names of those awarded the Victoria Cross. Both memorials and the Memorial Route will be officially unveiled in 2017, helping to mark Canada’s 150th year since Confederation.

The National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, which was announced May 8, 2014, will serve as a testament to Canadians’ deep gratitude for the strength, courage and valour of Canadian Armed Forces members who reacted immediately to their call of duty and served in Afghanistan in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The memorial will also pay tribute to the service, sacrifices and accomplishments of many Canadians, both military and civilian, who helped begin to rebuild Afghanistan.

The National Victoria Cross Memorial will honour Canadians who have earned our nation’s highest award for valour, listing all of their names.

Competitions for designing and creating both memorials will be launched in the coming months ....

Since it appears, according to the wording of the news release, that one won't be able to read the names of the AFG fallen (unlike the proposed VC monument), the question of where the Kandahar monument should end up remains unanswered - unless I've missed something in the news (latest from late 2011 on figuring out where it should go here) other than the monument being brought on the road until it finds a permanent place in Ottawa.

[milnews.ca]

Bumped w/more details ....

Two new national memorials honouring members of the Canadian military will be built at Richmond Landing as part of a larger new memorial route through downtown Ottawa, Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday.

The site along the Ottawa River south of Victoria Island will be home to the National Memorial to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan and the National Victoria Cross Memorial. It is already the site of the Royal Canadian Navy Monument.

The new memorials, along with a 2.8-kilometre memorial route that will link Ottawa landmarks with military significance, are expected to be unveiled in 2017 for Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation ....

More here & here.

[milnews.ca]

The latest - a plaque for the 20 Star of Military Valour winners ....

Defence Minister Jason Kenney today unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Valour Building to honour 20 recipients of the Star of Military Valour, received for their distinguished and valiant service in the presence of the enemy during Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.

Quick Facts

    Formerly known as La Promenade Building at 151 Sparks Street in Ottawa, the building was renamed the Valour Building as part of the National Day of Honour on May 9, 2014, to honour all members of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan.

    The plaque recognizes the 20 military personnel who served with the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, and were awarded the Star of Military Valour for self-sacrifice or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.

    A list of 14 of the recipients is available on the Governor General’s Honours web page.

    The SMV is one of three Military Valour Decorations – namely the Canadian Victoria Cross, the Star of Military Valour and the Medal of Military Valour – that were created by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on January 1, 1993. The Decorations may be awarded posthumously.

    More than 40,000 CAF members served in Afghanistan between October 2001 and March 2014, making it the largest deployment of CAF personnel since the Second World War.

(....)

More on the building in question here, and the list here^*.

Still no word I've been able to find on where these'll end up.

^* - In case you have to ask, some names aren't on the list because they likely work for groups that don't like their names in public.

[MCG]

... and both Afghan and Victoria Cross memorials stop.

Afghan war memorial in limbo as Liberals roll back perceived Tory militarism
Lee Berthiaume
National Post
04 March 2016

The Trudeau government is considering whether to shelve plans for a national Afghanistan war memorial, as it rolls back the previous Conservative government’s attempts to imbue Canada’s national identity with a healthy dose of militarism.
 
Then-veterans affairs minister Julian Fantino announced the National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan in May 2014. The project, pegged at about $5 million, was intended to honour the 40,000 Canadians who had served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014, including 158 who died.
 
Fantino’s successor, Erin O’Toole, re-announced the project — along with a separate memorial for Canadians who had won the Victoria Cross, the British Commonwealth’s highest military honour — last year. A site for the two memorials was chosen halfway between the Parliament Buildings and the Canadian War Museum.
 
The memorials were part of a concerted effort by the Conservatives over the previous decade to highlight Canada’s military heritage, traditions and prowess. The Tories spent millions of dollars commemorating various battles and campaigns, and touting Canada’s proud military history.

The focus on Canada’s martial spirit coincided with military missions in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq. But some also saw it as an attempt to redefine Canada’s national identity after previous governments, particularly the Liberals, had long described Canada as a country of peacekeepers.
 
But now the two memorials are in limbo, while a Conservative-era program that helped communities build their own memorials or cenotaphs is being cancelled.

In November, departmental officials told new Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr that the two memorials and the Community War Memorial Program were among a number of “key issues” that needed to be addressed by the new Liberal government.
 
Specifically, the minister was advised to “Seek confirmation whether the following projects (the Afghan and Victoria Cross memorials) are to be continued.” Officials also noted that funding for the community program was set to expire at the end of March unless the Liberals intervened.
 
Officials also told Hehr the department would need more money to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel this year, and Vimy Ridge next year.
 
The Ottawa Citizen obtained the briefing notes through the access to information law.
 
Four months later, Hehr’s office says the new government still has not decided whether to proceed with the memorials. “These are important initiatives and details are still being discussed internally,” spokesman Christian Duval said in an email. “As a result, final decisions have not yet been taken.”
 
But Hehr’s office did confirm the government is pulling the plug on the $5-million Community War Memorial Program, even though internal Veterans Affairs Canada evaluators gave it glowing reviews last year and said there was a “continued need” for it.

Hehr’s office said the Liberals are committed to marking Canada’s military history. “The Government of Canada is committed to keep alive the achievements and sacrifices of those who served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace,” spokeswoman Sarah McMaster said in an email.
 
But the decision to cancel the Community War Memorial Program is the latest indication the Liberals are shifting away from the heavy emphasis on Canadian military history and tradition championed by the Tories.
 
Immigration Minister John McCallum recently said some references to Canada’s military history added by the Tories will be removed from the new citizenship guide. The Trudeau government has also scrapped a controversial monument in Nova Scotia designed to honour Canada’s war dead in Europe.
 
Afghanistan Veterans Association founder Michael Blois has previously complained about the site the Conservatives chose for the Afghan memorial. “But something has to be done,” he said. “The length of the commitment and the level of sacrifice that went on, there needs to be something done on a national level.”
 
O’Toole, who is now the Conservative public safety critic, said veterans have also approached him to ask about the Afghan memorial. He said the monument is especially important now, as many Afghan vets continue to struggle in their post-military lives.
 
“That monument should be beyond politics. That was the (military’s) longest mission,” he said. “And I know veterans are looking for it, and there are still a number of young guys trying to find their purpose post-deployment. And they have to know that the country appreciated what they did.”

O’Toole also decried the government’s decision not to renew the community memorial program, which he said had experienced an uptake in interest over the past couple of years.
 
At least one Ontario community will have to find other funding to pay for a community war memorial now that the program is cancelled.
 
Paul Thorne, co-chairman of the Huron County Afghanistan Community Memorial Committee, said the planned monument, consisting of a demobilized light-armoured vehicle of the type used by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, will cost around $50,000. That doesn’t include the long-term costs of maintenance.
 
“We thought it was important because we do have Afghan veterans in our community, and some of them are suffering from PTSD,” he said. “And chances are we’re only going to have one monument in our area.”
 
Thorne said the community had hoped to tap into the community war memorial program. It will still press ahead with the project by increasing its fundraising efforts, but having some support from the federal government “would have been nice and would have been easier.”
 
He added that Canadian veterans serve all Canadians, and federal assistance “is a matter of honouring a commitment to them.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/afghan-war-memorial-in-limbo-as-liberals-roll-back-perceived-tory-militarism

[jollyjacktar]

Hehr’s office said the Liberals are committed to marking Canada’s military history.

I originally misread the "marking" bit and thought it said "making".  I thought to myself, "boy, are they ever committed to making Canada's military, history"

[milnews.ca]

The latest ...

The federal Liberals are now considering four different locations for a national Afghanistan war memorial — among them the Ottawa shoreline site picked by the previous Conservative government.

The federal government hasn’t decided on a location yet, said Veterans Affairs Canada spokesperson Zoltan Csepregi, responding on behalf of Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr.

The previous Conservative government had chosen Richmond Landing – a historic strip of the Ottawa River shore just east of the war museum – as the site for a memorial to pay tribute to the 40,000 Canadians who served in the conflict between 2001 and 2014, including the 158 who died.

But Veterans Affairs is also expressing interest in sites at the Cartier Square Drill Hall near Ottawa City Hall, a small patch of grass near the corner of Lyon and Wellington streets, and a field immediately west of the Canadian War Museum.

These three locations, along with Richmond Landing, were presented in July to a commemoration advisory group set up by Veterans Affairs.

Plans for the National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan were announced in May 2014 by then-Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino. The project was re-announced by the former Conservative government in May 2015 to include a memorial dedicated to Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour awarded to Commonwealth soldiers.

The planned memorials were part of the Conservative government’s controversial efforts to inject a dose of military pride into Canadians’ national identity. The new Liberal government had considered shelving plans for the Afghanistan memorial earlier this year before Hehr said in a March question period session that it would be carried out.

The Conservative government at the time said both memorials would be unveiled in 2017, helping to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

However, Veterans Affairs now says completion of the Afghanistan war memorial will not meet the original 2017 target date, and that the department’s focus for the sesquicentennial year will be on commemorating the centennials of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 1917) and the Battle of Passchendaele (July-November 1917), as well as the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid (August 1942) ...

[milnews.ca]

The latest ...

The federal Liberal government has chosen a new location for a memorial honouring Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, hopefully bringing to an end years of political wrangling and plodding decision-making over the monument’s future.

The National Capital Commission received the request from Canadian Heritage last Friday to approve land use for a location between Vimy Place and the Ottawa River pathway, just west of the Canadian War Museum.

This is but the first step of the monument approval rigamarole, which means the National Memorial to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan will almost certainly not be complete in time for Canada 150, as previously planned.

The land use must still be approved by the NCC’s board of directors and a host of bureaucratic boxes must be checked off before shovels can be put in the ground, or, for that matter, drawings even revealed ...

[Brihard]

The latest ...

That's friggin' excellent. At the October VAC stakeholders meeting, the commemoration advisory group gave us a brief on the four proposed sites. The Richmond Landing site was the one they recommended as opposed to outside the War Museum. The rest of us pretty broadly panned that idea basd on how out of the way it is. A poll was taken of thsoe of us on site, with very strong support coming back for the War Museum site. Part of the issue there was that soil contamination could well mean the whole budget would be eaten up just dealing with getting the site prepped. Anyway, that went over like a fart in church, so it's nice to see that they have reconsidered and have gone with the better site, even at some potentially higher cost.

The stakeholder summit presentation on the memorial can be found summarized here: http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-us/stakeholder-engagement/commemoration

[milnews.ca]

Bumped with the latest …

The National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan will be located across from the Canadian War Museum, on the other side of Booth Street, the National Capital Commission board of directors unanimously decided Thursday.

The $5-million monument was previously slated to be built at the Richmond Landing upper plaza, near the Portage Bridge, but people who participated in a 2016 summit held by the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada wanted the monument located west of the War Museum.

The museum didn’t support building the monument west of the building.

The new three shortlisted locations were north of the museum’s north entrance, north of the museum’s loading zone and east of the museum.

The NCC-owned land across from Booth Street along the NCC pathway, just south of the Ottawa River, came out on top.

Several NCC board members wanted information about how the public will be consulted, knowing that locations of memorials and the designs can be controversial matters. The Canadian Forces were criticized for not including families of fallen soldiers in a commemoration last month of the Afghanistan Memorial Hall at defence headquarters in Ottawa.

Larry Beasley said he’s “worried sick” that the monument planners don’t have the public’s view about the proposed location or if the monument is right for the site.

Board member Michael Foderick, who served in the Canadian Forces, stressed that he wants military families to be consulted on the monument project during the planning process.

The board heard that there’s finally consensus between the War Museum, Veterans Affairs and Canadian Heritage on the location for the monument.

“All of the key stakeholders are happy,” NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum said.

The tendering process will begin this summer or fall, leading to a design competition.

An unveiling of the monument is scheduled for fall 2023 ...

[Brihard]

Bumped with the latest …

That’s an excellent spot.

[Dimsum]

That’s an excellent spot.

Will that memorial be a duplicate of the one in DND?

[Brihard]

Will that memorial be a duplicate of the one in DND?

Doubtful. They'll be holding a design competition.

[Journeyman]

The museum didn’t support building the monument west of the building.

Anyone know why the War Museum didn't want the memorial near by?

[milnews.ca]

A bit more from the VAC info-machine ...

The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of having a special place to honour the over 40,000 Canadian women and men in uniform – as well as the hundreds of civilians and government officials – who served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. Tragically, 158 Canadian Armed Forces members and seven civilians died in the cause of international peace and freedom during this mission.

Today (20 June), the National Capital Commission Board of Directors granted Federal Land Use Approval of the proposed LeBreton Flats location in Ottawa for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan.

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, welcomed this critical step towards creating the Monument.

The National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan will recognize the commitment and sacrifice of the men and women who served in Canada’s whole-of-government mission in Afghanistan, as well as the support provided to them by Canadians at home.

Quotes

    “Canadians recognize the incredible dedication that our service men and women, and civilians, made while serving in the whole-of-government mission in Afghanistan. Today’s announcement is an important step in giving their family and friends, and all Canadians, a place to honour and remember them. This location will offer an accessible and fitting place to quietly reflect and honour the courage, sacrifices and achievements of those who served during our country’s mission in Afghanistan. This Monument will be a perpetual place to remember their selfless duty to our country.”

    The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

    “The National Capital Commission is proud to work with its partners on this National Monument. The site location will give all visitors an opportunity to recognize the commitment and sacrifice of Canadians who served in Afghanistan, and the support provided to them by Canadians at home.”

    Tobi Nussbaum, Chief Executive Officer, National Capital Commission

Quick facts

    Canada joined the United Nations-mandated mission in Afghanistan in October 2001 and continued to support the multinational military efforts there until March 2014. Canada’s commitment mobilized a whole-of-government mission, which included Canadian Armed Forces, police forces, public servants and civilians.

    During Canada’s mission in Afghanistan, 158 Canadian Armed Forces members died, as well as seven Canadian civilians including a diplomat, four aid workers, a government contractor and a journalist. Thousands were left with physical and psychological injuries.

    The Veterans Affairs Canada Commemoration Advisory Group has been consulted throughout the site selection process for the Monument. In February 2019, the Commemoration Advisory Group endorsed LeBreton Flats as the preferred location.

    The site is located in Ottawa across the street from the Canadian War Museum on the east side of Booth Street, north of the National Holocaust Monument. The site is located in an area of high public visitation and can easily be made universally accessible.

    The next project phase is a national design competition, beginning with a Request for Qualifications. Public consultations, including consultations with Veterans, will take place prior to the selection and announcement of the winning design ...

[Furniture]

Anyone know why the War Museum didn't want the memorial near by?

I believe the reason is they didn't want the museum associated with one war more than the others, or something to that effect.

[Journeyman]

I believe the reason is they didn't want the museum associated with one war more than the others, or something to that effect.

Thanks

[Brihard]

I believe the reason is they didn't want the museum associated with one war more than the others, or something to that effect.

That’s my recollection as well.