A part of the Kandahar Air Field cenotaph is on display in Victoria until Saturday, offering Islanders a chance to commemorate the 12 years of involvement by Canada in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Memorial Vigil is a movable structure made up of 192 plaques representing the 204 people who died during various deployments in Afghanistan. The plaques represent 158 Canadian soldiers, a Canadian diplomat, a defence contractor and a Canadian journalist who were killed during the Canadian mission in Afghanistan. The 43 Americans who died under Canadian command are also represented.
The plaques were formerly part of the Kandahar Airfield cenotaph in Afghanistan, which was dismantled and repatriated to Canada. The cenotaph was a memorial structure for Canadian soldiers to commemorate their colleagues who died while deployed in Afghanistan.
The rest of the cenotaph is housed in a warehouse in Ottawa awaiting a decision for a permanent home.
Canada's 12-year engagement in Afghanistan was the largest deployment for the Canadian Armed Forces since the Second World War. More than 40,000 Canadian military personnel deployed to southwest Asia between 2002 and 2014.
The Canadian Armed Forces conducted operations in a number of roles including combat, security, development, support and training operations.
After the exhibit in Victoria, the memorial will be on display at Canada Place in Vancouver and at locations across Canada until Nov. 12, when it will close in Ottawa.
The exhibit is on display in Victoria inside the B.C. legislature; it is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
