Features

There is clarity here—found in the crystal blue glacier water and up along the golden ridges and swaying pines separating land from sky. It also emerges from the words and playful anticipation of those who have arrived—out of uniform—to canoe the braided channels and rapids of the historic North Saskatchewan River.

FEBRUARY 1, 1944: Chinese forces attack in northern Burma at Taihpa. FEBRUARY 2, 1943: German forces surrender at Stalingrad. FEBRUARY 3, 1916: Fire destroys the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. Only the library is saved.

On Dec. 7, 1941, in a co-ordinated strike without equal in the annals of war, the Japanese wrought havoc on units of the United States Pacific Fleet in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, invaded the Philippines and Hong Kong, assumed control of Saigon and the rest of French Indochina, landed invading forces at two points on the northeast coast of Malaya, and bombed Singapore. Other units headed for key invasion points in Sarawak, North Borneo and the Dutch East Indies. Using bicycles as their principal means of transport through the Malayan rubber plantations, the Japanese advanced swiftly and silently, outwitting and outdistancing the British, Australian and Indian defenders. These co-ordinated attacks gave Japan control of the Indian Ocean and severed the artery of the Allied rubber supply.

Captain Nichola Goddard of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Shilo, Man., was a forward observation officer during a firefight with the Taliban roughly 24 kilometres west of Kandahar in May 2006. She had been standing in the turret of a LAV (light armoured vehicle), helping to target artillery, when a rocket-propelled grenade hit, unleashing a storm of lethal shrapnel; the piece that killed Goddard penetrated above her body armour.

Interviewing general officers can be a little difficult, to be honest. Not only do they tend to have the no-nonsense command presence you’d expect from a leader in charge of the fate of thousands, they also tend to be a little cryptic, which is not to say they talk in code, but maybe something close. Perhaps cryptic is the wrong word. Maybe it’s just that one of the reasons a Canadian Forces officer ends up becoming a general is they possess the habit of very rarely ever saying anything too bluntly, nothing too frank or controversial—at least to the media or, at the very least, to me.

There was a moment in the Memorial Chamber when Patty Braun seemed to lose her composure. There, on Parliament Hill, in the chamber devoted to Canada’s war dead, she looked into the Seventh Book of Remembrance where she could see her son’s name, “Corporal Braun, David Robert William, 22 August 2006, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.”

Amanda is standing in the sun talking to her brother, trying not to cry. Peter MacKay is reading, name by name, the list of Canada’s war dead. There are so many names, Amanda thinks, who is going to take care of them all? Amanda is asking her brother to check in on all the dead, to take care of them. Her brother is dead. He’s one of the names, her brother is among the lost. Will Cushley was killed in battle in 2006 and Amanda Cushley has been coming to Kandahar ever since. She’s spent three tours here now as a civilian worker. She comes to say thank you and because it’s the last thing she can ever share with Will. There is going to be a moment, Amanda knows, when it’s time to let go. The Canadians are packing up and leaving Kandahar. They are taking down their memorial and bringing it home. But first, there’s one last time to say a final farewell. Amanda’s moment is upon her.

1. Share Cross-Border Friendships In early 1813, during the War of 1812, Lieutenant-Colonel George MacDonnell, commander of Fort Wellington in Prescott, Ont., led his troops across the ice on the St. Lawrence River to attack and burn much of Ogdensburg, N.Y. Enjoy a re-enactment of the event and hospitality on both sides of the river where friendships have long since flourished. Fort Wellington sets the action by firing an 18-pounder from its ramparts.

Last fall, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore announced the federal government would invest millions of dollars to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. That celebration, he stated, was an opportunity for all Canadians to take pride in their history and participate “in the events and activities that will mark this important anniversary for Canada.” The problem is that, with the gradual disappearance of history from school curriculums in recent decades, many Canadians today—particularly younger ones—have only the haziest of notions about the war, its causes, course and outcome. Therefore, a review of this “forgotten” conflict might be useful for those who would like a primer on the forthcoming commemorations.

JANUARY 1, 1921: Rear-Admiral Walter Hose succeeds Admiral Charles Kingsmill as director of the Naval Staff. JANUARY 2-6, 1945: After waiting for the solid dike country to freeze solid, 1st Canadian Corps launches well co-ordinated attacks on two strong German positions east of the Senio River in Italy. JANUARY 7, 1955: Canadian Parliament’s opening ceremonies and Speech from the Throne are broadcast live via television for the first time.