Ukrainians have served with distinction in the Canadian Forces since at least the First World War. However, they have done so as individuals, as members of virtually all major units, as participants in all major battles and campaigns. So it’s not easy to separately commemorate Ukrainian-Canadian military achievement. In spite of that, it is possible to see Ukrainian-Canadians commemorated, if you know where to look.

Let’s start at Green Island. That’s the one on the Rideau River, where it meets the Ottawa. On one side of Sussex Ave you have the old Ottawa City Hall. On the North side there is a small park with three military monuments. One of these consists of a large globe surmounted by an eagle, surrounded by walls containing lists of airmen who died during World War II, with no known grave, in Canada or while ferrying aircraft overseas to Europe, Africa, the Middle and Far East or flying anti-submarine patrols over the North Atlantic. Through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) Canada prepared thousands of aircrew, from Commonwealth and allied countries, for combat. There are a few Ukrainian names on this monument.

Beside the aircrew monument stands one showing a standing man with a raised fist. The Spanish Civil War started when the commander of the Spanish Foreign Legion , based in North Africa, rebelled against the Republican government in Madrid. With the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Francisco Franco led his troops in an invasion of mainland Spain. To the assistance of the Republicans stepped in the USSR and the Comintern. In addition to weapons and equipment, they called on Communist parties around the World to organize and send troops. Working through the Ukrainian Labour Farmer Temple Association and other groups, the Party in Canada raised the 1500-hundred man MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion to fight within the ranks of the International Brigades. Over a third of them would die on the battlefields of Spain. The monument, dedicated by Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson last October, lists the names of all members of the unit. Even a quick glance will tell you that at least a third were Ukrainian. The architect of the monument was Oryst Sawchuk.

Now turn South, cross Sussex and head East across the bridge, in the direction of Rideau Hall. Just as you cross the bridge you’ll see a short plinth on the right, the CANLOAN memorial. CANLOAN was not another CIDA program to lend money to worthy Ukrainian projects. During WWII, as a result of combat losses, Great Britain was faced with a shortage of junior officers. Canada had a surplus. The result was the CANLOAN program, where some 750 Canadians were loaned to bolster British ranks. Those who died in combat or as a result of war wounds are listed on the monument. Two or three of them might be Ukrainian (although the names could just as easily be Polish or Jewish).

If your interested in checking out each and every war monument in Canada for Ukrainian (or other) content, go to the website for DND’s Directorate of Heritage & History: http://www.dnd.ca/hr/dhh/engraph/home_e.asp. Follow links from there to a listing of all war monuments in our country, including photos, descriptions and exact locations. This is a work in progress, so you may be able to help in advancing the project.

Now get on your bicycle (what-you’re travelling by car?), pedal to St Laurent Blvd and then down to the corner of Montreal Road. You’re at Notre Dame Cemetery. Prime Minister Laurier is buried here, but we’re not visiting his grave. After all, he wasn’t Ukrainian. No, really, he wasn’t. Find section A (there’s a handy map posted to the left of the entrance) and then go on to a tall cedar bush in that section. You’re looking for the grave of Filip Konowal. Just before WWI a former member of the Russian Imperial Guard traveled to Canada to improve his economic prospects. Caught by the war, he joined the Canadian Governor-General’s Foot Guards in Ottawa and was deployed to France. On one day in August 1917 Corporal Konowal killed at least 16 of the German enemy with rifle and bayonet, destroying a machine gun nest and clearing the way for his regiment’s advance in the process. For this act he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Severely wounded, he served out the war working in the Russian Military Attache’s office in London. Konowal then volunteered for the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, where he was promoted to sergeant.

Filip Konowal is also commemorated by his unit with a large trilingual (French-Ukrainian-English) plaque and display on the inside wall of Cartier Square Drill Hall. You can find it on Laurier Ave. W., just behind the current City Hall. In addition, a copy of his VC can be seen on the basement hall wall of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on Green Valley Cres. The hall also has a Roll of Honour commemorating parishioners who died fighting for Canada. If you go upstairs, to the entrance of the church proper, you’ll see a portrait of Konowal wearing his Victoria Cross, along with a description of how he won it. For the really adventurous, cross the river to Hull (I know, but it will take me a while before I get used to calling it Gatineau) and find the Royal Canadian Legion Branch. On the wall of the manager’s office you can see a copy of Konowal’s application to join. The National War Museum, in it’s Hall of Honour, has an interactive display on all Canadian VC winners. So start writing those letters. It would be remiss not to note that one of our members, and a former president of the UCPBA, Ron Sorobey, has been instrumental in reviving and commemorating Konowal’s reputation in the past few years.

The War Museum has an annex, Vimy House (221 Champaigne Ave N). It is used to store and display large artifacts that don’t fit into the main building. In the early 1990’s Ukraine found a tank that had been buried in a swamp, and thus well preserved, since the Second World War. Manufactured in Canada and sent to support the Soviet war effort during World War II, it was returned as a gesture of friendship by Ukraine to Canada.

On the way from the War Museum to Vimy House you should have stopped off at the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. The Books of Remembrance contain the names of all who died for Canada during its wars. The pages are turned daily, to coincide with the date of death of those listed. If you want to find a particular person, go to the website at http://collections.ic.gc.ca/books/remember.htm and you can find the name, the date on which it is displayed, and even download a copy of the exact page in the book.

If you want to troll for information on Canada’s military history while surfing the web, check the following two sites:

• Veterans’ Affairs Canada
• Directorate of History & Heritage (DND)

Since these lines were written, plans for the new War Museum, to be open in May 2005, have been announced. The World War I section will include a display featuring Konowal’s VC and contrasting his situation to that of the Ukrainians interned in Canada during the War.