Providing Protection

Heroes Remember

Providing Protection

Transcript

For me it was one of the most memorable experiences in my military career. Mixing what I was trained to do with what was on the ground that we weren’t expected to see or trained for to see, it stays with you for the rest of your life. When we went to Sarajevo we had the reopening of the airport, we got to the airport and we opened the airport, basically we took the airport and it was opened for aircraft to come in and bring relief, food, medicine for the citizens of Sarajevo which at the time were pretty, were in really rough shape. Our job was to protect the vehicles, the trucks that had all the aid food aid and medicines, etc. to destinations across the city which was divided in different sectors and we provided protection, armed protection for those vehicles and many times daily, of course, every time you went out, you came under enemy fire, sniper fire was pretty common, RPG’s were fired sometimes, so you were always on edge but I remember being, saying to myself before I left the wire, you know and went out, I said to myself, I am proud to be doing this and representing my country and being able to help all these people that have nothing and I know I have the support of my country.

Description

Mr. Bojalil reflects on his pride for the protection he gave to the locals.

Alfredo “Alphie” Bojalil

Mr. Alphie Bojalil was born in Mexico City, August 9, 1969. At the young age of 15, Mr. Bojalil had the keen desire to join the military as the discipline and adventure for travel intrigued his interest. In 1988-89, Mr. Bojalil went to Battle School in Petawawa, Ontario and joined the Royal Canadian Regiment. After his training, Mr. Bojalil was posted to Germany where he remained for 2 years. A big part of Mr. Bojalil’s military career involved his participation as a peacekeeper with 3 RCR, November Company where he and a contingent of soldiers travelled to the besiege city of Sarajevo in 1992 with their main task to reopen the airport and provide humanitarian aid and supply to the people of this city. For this, Mr. Bojalil gained recognition and was awarded the Commander-In-Chief Commendation for his participation in this effort. After discharge from the military, Mr. Bojalil became a strong advocate for his fellow soldiers involved in this mission and has tirelessly worked to bring them together for a reunion in 2009. Mr. Bojalil remains a strong voice for his service and holds great pride for his unit’s accomplishments. Mr. Bojalil married and has one daughter.

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