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Service and Sacrifice in the Balkans

Heroes Remember

Service and Sacrifice in the Balkans

Transcript
We suffered our fair share of casualties, we didn't lose any Canadians. I had just 12 officers there, but we've had two other nationalities taken out by snipers, we had six killed in the helicopters that were shot down and our lads excelled, you know, one was given the Medal of Bravery for actions of bravery, rescuing a whole bunch of people, another with a Meritorious Service medal and there was one instance where I recommended someone for the Star of Courage and he got nothing, which just blew my mind away, because there was not sufficient documentation for some of these heroes. So the Canadians really made their presence felt, in this very unique mission that was led by an ambassador from whatever country was in the chair in the European community, in my case it was Portuguese, and following the Portuguese on the first of July, the Brits came in and took over.
Description

Mr. Ethell remembers the service and sacrifice of the various UN servicemen during the Balkan crisis.

Donald Stewart Ethell

Donald Stewart Ethell was born in July 1937 and was raised in Victoria, BC. His father was a Veteran of both the First and Second World Wars. His mother was a nurse. He and his sister attended boarding school because of his parents' jobs and he was only home at Christmas and during the summer. His mother passed away when Mr. Ethell was 10 years old.

When he enlisted, Mr. Ethell joined the Queen's Own Rifles in Calgary. After several years of serving as an infantryman he was recommended for the officer training. Mr. Ethell graduated from the program and rose to the rank of Colonel. He went on to command Canadian, and United Nations, forces in various missions all over the world. In the mid 1990s, Col. Ethell retired with over thirty-five years of distinguished service.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
01:10
Person Interviewed:
Donald Stewart Ethell
War, Conflict or Mission:
Canadian Armed Forces
Location/Theatre:
Balkans
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Rank:
Colonel

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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