Afghanistan monument unveiled next week

A view of the new monument commemorating the service of 40,000 civilians and military who served in Afghanistan. The memorial was created by the Greater Victoria Afghanistan Memorial Project Society and will be unveiled Sept. 30.

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

A monument honouring Canadians military members and civilians who served in Afghanistan will be unveiled at a ceremony in downtown Victoria Sept 30. The public is encouraged to attend.

Official proceedings for the dedication ceremony of the B.C. Afghanistan Memorial will commence at 2 p.m. at Victoria’s Courthouse Park, located at Quadra and Courtney Streets.

The bells of Christ Cathedral Church will ring at 12:15 p.m. followed by a performance from the 5th Field Artillery Band and the choir of the Cathedral School.

The military parade will arrive at 1:45 p.m., led by the Pipes and Drums of the Canadian Scottish (Princess Mary’s) Regiment.

Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, will be joined by the Greater Victoria Afghanistan Memorial Project Society (GVAMPS) Directors, the Premier and local and national government and military officials for the unveiling and dedication.

The 8,600 kilogram, granite memorial measures 3.5 metres by 2 metres and recognizes the 163 Canadians killed during the conflict and the 40,000 who served in Afghanistan.

Brigadier-General (Ret’d) Joseph Gollner, who served 37 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, and twice visited Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry [PPCLI] battlegroups in Afghanistan as Colonel of the Regiment, in 2008 and 2010, played a key role in bringing the monument to reality as President of GVAMPS
He says the ceremony will pay special tribute to  the Memorial Cross families. They are the loved ones of 16 British Columbia-based Memorial Cross recipients who paid the ultimate price for their service in Afghanistan.

“The theme of the unveiling is honouring families of both those who have returned and those who have fallen,” says Gollner. “I want the dedication ceremony to be short, simple, and dignified. Naturally protocol will be followed to respect Her Honour and our other guests; after that point it will be a family event.”

As part of his Colonel of the Regiment responsibilities, Gollner wrote 96 letters of condolences to family members who had lost a loved one in Afghanistan, making the dedication a very personal event.

Representatives from the Canadian Armed Forces will include Rear-Admiral Art McDonald, Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, and Brigadier-General Trevor Cadieu, Commander 3rd Canadian Division. Four Guards of Honour will be on site representing the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The memorial will be moved into place by a flatbed crane truck at the northeast corner of Courthouse Park Sept. 26, four days ahead of the unveiling.

“Doing so will allow us to make preparations for the ceremony on the 30th and complete the official gifting by the Society to the Province of British Columbia of the memorial,” says Gollner.

That moment will be the culmination of nearly five years of community-based efforts initiated by City of Victoria Councillor Christopher Coleman, a process that secured significant funding and support-in-kind from public and private sources.

“My colleagues and I have worked hard to see this through and there haven’t been many restful days,” says Gollner.

The registered B.C. ­society with its 10-member Board of Directors secured over $60,000 in funding from six main benefactors, who have chosen to remain anonymous, and numerous other donations. The money raised made the project eligible for a $50,000 Veteran’s Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program grant.