Remembrance: Canadians should be helped to understand war, historian says

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Brett Bundale
Telegraph-Journal

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On a warm Easter Sunday in Afghanistan two years ago, six soldiers - five of them from CFB Gagetown - died when their light armoured vehicle rolled over an explosive device buried in the dusty desert.

Enlarge Photo

Kâté LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal

Lieutenant-Governor Herménégilde Chiasson speaks at the memorial in April 2007 held at CFB Gagetown for eight soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

When the tragedy struck, military historian Lee Windsor was in Kandahar and had the difficult task of documenting the loss of life.

The deputy director of the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick, Windsor says Remembrance Day is a time to remember these tragedies and to honour the sacrifice of Canadians killed in action.

"But it's not enough to tell people to remember. Canadians need help making sense of the mission in Afghanistan and remembering our wartime experience in years gone past," he said during an interview Tuesday.

In the wake of the vandalism on a Fredericton war memorial, Windsor said there needs to be a greater focus on education and awareness on Remembrance Day.

"This is a reprehensible and disturbing act," Windsor said. "I would only hope it's a random and isolated act and not some political statement or targeted message."

Windsor joined the military at 17 and has served with two Atlantic Canadian Forces units, the VIII Canadian Hussars and the West Nova Scotia Regiment.

During his time in the bluenose province he studied military history at Acadia University.

"I walked the line between academic and soldier, always with an eye to being a better soldier. But in the late 1990s, I decided to take the uniform off to devote my time to studying the military," he said. "There aren't enough people acting as a voice for veterans and the military."

In April 2007, Windsor went to Afghanistan to conduct research for a book, Kandahar Tour: The turning point in Canada's Afghan mission, co-authored with fellow UNB professors David Charters and Brent Wilson.

With the large number of New Brunswickers in Canada's military, the 38-year-old said Remembrance Day takes on added significance in the province.

"Communities across New Brunswick are closely tied to the Canadian army through CFB Gagetown and the local units here like the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment," he said.

"We have a real connection through our neighbours and our friends and our brothers and sisters that are in Afghanistan. Remembrance day certainly has a real presence here."

Despite widespread support for soldiers in the province, Windsor said the challenge for recent veterans is the political division and debate on the Afghan mission.

"There was greater unity surrounding WWII. People understood what the perils of Nazism and militarism were and soldiers knew they did the right thing," he said.

"But now, when soldiers come back from Afghanistan they hear it is a wasted effort. The psychological ramifications on veterans can be quite serious."

Windsor said it's important to educate the public about Canada's role in Afghanistan as well as its past military operations.

On behalf of UNB and the Canadian Battlefields Foundation, he regularly guides groups of students, soldiers and the general public on study tours to battlefields in Italy, France, Belgium and Holland.

"It's not just a walk through a cemetery," he said. "We walk them through the battles, decisions and grand strategies, and then we show them the ground where soldiers died."