Veterans reflect on Canada's peacekeeping legacy

More than a half century after first arriving in Cyprus, Bradley Mills returned to the Mediterranean island this fall to commemorate the 60th anniversary of one of Canada's longest-running peacekeeping missions.

Mills served on a UN mission in Cyprus from 1972 to 1973, returningin '74 when fighting broke out. Canada's participation was calledOperation Snowgoose, which began in 1964.

As Canadians mark Remembrance Day this year, he and other veterans are contemplatingthe legacy ofCanada's peacekeeping efforts around the world.

A group of mission veterans, including Mills, returned to Cyprus this fall to reflect on their service.

Before he left, Mills spoke to Calgary students and discovered that many weren't aware of Canada's involvement in Cyprus or even knew what peacekeeping entails.

"It's so important that they realize what peacekeepers actually do. It's not just standing in the middle between two groups, putting your hands up and saying stop. You have to be well trained," said the retired master warrant officer.

Canadians worked with United Nations forces to reduce tensions between the Greek and Turkish populations on Cyprus.It became an independent state in 1960 after 82 years of being a British colony.

A series of constitutional crises followed, and violence broke out between Turkish and Greek groups on the island in 1963.

In July 1974, a Greek military junta carried out a coup. This was quickly followed by a Turkish invasion, leading to conflict breaking out before a ceasefire was declared.

Approximately 28,000 Canadians have served there, with the last large deployment of Canadians leaving Cyprus in 1993, but the continuous presence of one soldier per year still remains.

WATCH | Remembering Canada's peacekeeping mission in Cyprus:

Remembering Canada's peacekeeping mission in Cyprus

3 days ago

Duration 2:18

This year, Remembrance Day falls amid the 60th anniversary of Canada's involvement in a United Nations mission in Cyprus, one of Canada's oldest and longest-running peacekeeping missions. Veterans who served in Cyprus say it's important to remember the importance of peacekeeping.

Peacekeeping efforts have a long history in Canada.

Former prime minister Lester Pearson, who was previously secretary of state for external affairs (1948-57), won support in 1956 to send a United Nations Emergency Force to Egypt during the Suez Crisis. The force was set up to separate warring factions in the country, and the work garnered Pearson a Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.

The Nobel Peace Prize was later awarded in 1988 to all UN Peacekeeping Forces for their contributions to prevent armed clashes. Canada has continued to contribute to UN peacekeeping missions globally throughout the last 70 years.

This role as peacekeeperis one that Canadians would rather see their country take on than fighting wars, Mills said.

"Fighting for peace is what people in Canada would like to hear about. They don't want to hear about us going to war. It's better for Canada to be a part of world peace," Mills said.

Retired lieutenant-colonel Richard Wright also completed a tour in Cyprus, in 1979, and contributed to the peacekeeping mission in Egypt in 1974. Wright noted that Canada's peacekeeping contributions area source of pride for the country.

"You have to remember your history," said Wright, who isalso the president of the Calgary chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in UN Peacekeeping.

"We've done a heck of a lot of peacekeeping missions, which reduces the number of wars between different countries and between different factions in the same country."

Canada's peacekeeping contributions are honouredin Calgary with exhibits at The Military Museums. The museum is currently hosting a curated selection of paintings from war artist Bill MacDonnell that includes work reflecting Canada's peacekeeping operations during the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.

Retired chief warrant officer Peter Wonderham, who served two tours of Cyprus with the UN, in 1972 and1989, said he's seen peacekeepers do an amazing job in trying tostop death and injury while putting their lives on the line especially in difficult situations like he witnessed during his UN tourin Bosnia in 1993.

"UN peacekeeping is part of Canada," Wonderham said.

"Canadians are very, very proud of their peacekeepers. There shouldn't be a Canadian wearing his medals or her medals or ribbons that can go downtown on November 11 that can't be thanked for what they do."

Learning lessons from past peacekeeping

To retired major Kent Griffiths, Canada's involvement in Cyprus represented a training ground where the country learned to become peacekeepers, interacting with all sides to prevent conflict. It wasn't just about putting armed forces between both sides. It was about mediating grievances and preventing those from escalating.

He added that one thing he's learned from his involvement in these missions is that ordinary people on both sides of a conflict always say they don't want to go to war. It's governments who become engaged in them, leaving people with no choice.

"The more educated we are and the more we use our votes [and] we use our voices to prevent war, the better this world's going to be," Griffiths said.

Throughout the week leading up to Remembrance Day, Griffiths is the master of ceremonies at Calgary's Field of Crosses. Griffithsserved with the United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt in 1978 and 1979. He was part of the effort to stand between Egypt and Israeland was in the country when a peace treaty was signed in 1979.

Griffiths notes that looking at military history can sometimes be viewed as glorifying war, which naturally turns people away from participating. But he stresses the importance of remembering those who've died while in service, and at taking away lessons from past military and peacekeeping efforts.

"We should be looking at the things we did right and the things we did wrong in our military history," Griffiths said.

"If we remember the big losses, the cost to Canada and to the world, we should actually be offended every time that somebody goes to war, and it should be our last resort."