Peacekeeper Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. The park is located in the neighbourhood of North Glenmore, on the former grounds of Canadian Forces Base Calgary. The park includes a memorial wall with the names of

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

members who have given their lives on

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

and peace support missions with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and other organizations since the end of the Second World War, including the current mission in Afghanistan.

Description

The park encompasses 1.85 hectares and includes a memorial Wall of Honour and statuary dedicated to Canadian peacekeepers. "Mark R. Isfeld presenting small knitted dolls to Bosnian children" (2003) by

André Gauthier (sculptor) Colonel André D. Gauthier OMM, CD (1935 – October 26, 2017), was a Canadian army officer, monument sculptor and designer in various materials including bronze casting. He was also an artist in oil painting, charcoal, and watercolours. Many of ...

was erected at Peacekeeper Park in Calgary. The "Izzy" doll is named after peacekeeper Mark Isfeld, whose mother crocheted small dolls for him to give to local children while on patrols during his peacekeeping tour. MCpl Mark R. Isfeld is named on the wall of the park, as he was killed by a landmine in Croatia on 21 June 1994. A public playground is also hosted by the City of Calgary on the grounds.

History

The park was built in 2004 in an area previously known as Lincoln Park, which during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

had been an airfield of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

. It was anticipated at the time of construction that the memorial wall would have enough space to last for 60 years due to the low mortality rate of Canadian peacekeeping missions. When the decision was made to include Canadian fatalities from the mission in Afghanistan, the wall was quickly populated and fundraising efforts were initiated to install a second wall to accommodate the growing list of soldiers to be commemorated.

Events

The park is the focus of the annual Peacekeeper Day commemorations in Calgary, recognized nationally on August 9, the anniversary of an air crash in 1974 that killed nine Canadian peacekeepers of the

UNEF UNEF may refer to: * United Nations Emergency Force, a UN force deployed in the Middle East in 1956 * UNEF, a designation for Extra-Fine thread series of Standard Unified Screw Threads (ANSI B1.1) * Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (Natio ...

mission. This event was commemorated in 2005 when a monument to the "Buffalo Nine" was dedicated a few blocks away at another new park called "Buffalo Park." On August 9, 1974, Canadian Forces Buffalo 115461 was making a scheduled supply flight from

Ismaila Ismaila is a town and Union Councils of Pakistan, Union Council of Swabi District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

when it was shot down by surface to air missiles. Nine Canadians were killed, marking the worst ever single day of loss for Canadian peacekeepers. It is the anniversary of this event, August 9, that has been declared a national

National Peacekeepers' Day National Peacekeepers' Day (french: Journée Nationale des Casques Bleus) is an official remembrance day for Canadian veterans of military peacekeeping activities. It is officially marked on 9 August of each year and alternately may be observed on t ...

in Canada. The monument in Buffalo Park consists of a propeller from a Buffalo aircraft and a stone marker and plaque.CBC news story
/ref>

References

{{Calgary landmarks Parks in Calgary