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Ontario Afghanistan Memorial pays tribute to Canada’s longest armed conflict

January 2024

On Remembrance Day in 2020, an addition was made to the Ontario Veterans’ Memorial, on the south lawn of the Ontario Legislature, to commemorate the Afghanistan War. The Afghanistan Memorial recognizes the participation of Canadians who served during the mission to free Afghanistan from control of the Taliban.

Designed by landscape architectural firm Phillips, Farevaag, Smallenberg, the memorial includes a bronze component in a folded and ribbon-like form, symbolizing the aid that Canada extended on 11 September 2001, when numerous passenger jets made an emergency landing at the Gander Airport, after all airplanes were grounded in the wake of the attacks. When viewed from the south side, the bronze ribbon resembles the silhouette of the mountains in Afghanistan.

The memorial also features a stone from an Inukshuk that Canadian soldiers erected at the Kandahar Airport, dedicated to fallen Canadian soldiers.

A very interesting feature is when viewing it from the south side, the tallest portion of the monument creates a frame when combined with the edge of the bronze end wall of the Veterans’ Memorial, an image is created that resembles the forms of the World Trade Center twin towers.

Sources: The Veterans’ Memorial and the fAfghanistan Memorial (ola.org).

About the author

Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth served in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve for 13 years (1987-2000). He served with units in Toronto, Hamilton & Windsor and worked or trained at CFB Esquimalt, CFB Halifax, CFB Petawawa, CFB Kingston, CFB Toronto, Camp Borden, The Burwash Training Area and LFCA Training Centre Meaford.

Permanent link to this article: https://militarybruce.com/ontario-afghanistan-memorial-pays-tribute-to-canadas-longest-armed-conflict/

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