Peacekeeper Cairn was dedicated on 8 August 2004 to honour the nine Canadian Armed Forces members with the United Nations peace mission in Egypt who were killed on 9 August 1974 when their plane was shot down in a Syrian missile attack while making a routine supply run to the mission in the Golan Heights. National Peacekeepers’ Day is observed on the anniversary of this attack which is the greatest single-day loss of Canadian Armed Forces members on international peacekeeping duties.
Originally intended to be the granite rollers for a paper mill, these stone cylinders were repurposed into the cairn. It was designed and constructed by Larsen's Memorial and its total weight is approximately 33,000 pounds. The three pillars represent the strength of the Army, Navy, Air Force and most recently Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They also represent Canada's past, present and future.
All three pillars are beveled to 45 degrees at the top. Its center pillar is 12’ tall with the United Nations medal engraved into the top of the stone to represent all the United Nations missions and not one single medal. The left pillar is 10’ tall and engraved with the obverse side of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal. The right pillar is 8’ tall and has the reverse side of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal engraved on its top.
The memorial was erected by the LGen RR Crabbe Chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping and the land was donated by the province. Korean War Veteran Norm Van Tassel, President of the LGen RR Crabbe Chapter, and the inspiration behind the creation of the cairn, said the project took a little over two years to complete. It was funded by the City of Winnipeg, Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans associations, Royal Canadian Legion, War Amps of Canada, Jewish War Veterans Association, Portuguese War Veterans, other military groups and private citizens.
