By Newell Durnbrooke
With the extension of Canada’s Latvia mission, journalists have turned to Macdonald-Laurier Institute “expert” Marcus Kolga to put it all in context. And what an expert he is.
Kolga gushed about the Latvian mission. “It’s probably one of the most important international missions that we’ve been engaged in since the liberation of the Netherlands in World War II,” he told the Canadian Press news service. He also repeated the same line to the Baltic Times.
Hmmm Mr. Kolga….I wonder if there are a few more international missions/operations since the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops that might have been a tad more important than the current mission in Latvia? Esprit de Corps has come up with a few. Here they are:
OPERATION VARSITY – MARCH 1945
More than 1,000 Canadian paratroopers took part in this mission which helped set the stage for the final assault on and defeat of Nazi Germany. During this operation, Corporal Fred Topham of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion earned the Victoria Cross for his extraordinary bravery. More than 1,000 allied soldiers were killed.
KOREAN WAR
516 Canadians killed
1,200 wounded
Over 26,000 Canadians served in this war that prevented the spread of Communism on the Koreana peninsula. Communist forces failed to overrun South Korea because of the bravery of Canadian and allied soldiers.
COLD WAR
Hundreds of thousands of Canadian Forces personnel served during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991 to deter the Soviet Union. Over 1,200 Canadian military members died during the Cold War.
BALKAN WARS 1990s
23 Canadians killed
Almost 40,000 Canadians served during this international mission.
AFGHAN WAR
158 Canadian soldiers killed
7 Canadian civilians killed
More than 2,000 wounded
More than 40,000 Canadians served in this war.
Marcus Kolga has been billed as a “disinformation expert.” Kolga is also considered by the Canadian Forces/DND as a friendly “stakeholder”. He is entitled to his opinion.
But the missions and operations highlighted above illustrate, in the view of Esprit de Corps, the ridiculousness of the statement by Marcus Kolga.
Did we miss a few other missions?
