U.N peacekeeping has been effective when the troops are on the ground; but when they are withdrawn, many war-torn countries revert to conflict. That was the challenge of peacekeeping expressed by Gerry O’Pray, former U.N. peacekeeper, at our June 2 meeting. The soldiers do their job but often the politicians don’t and peace is lost again, he says.
Gerry spoke proudly of his 4 tours of U.N. peacekeeping duty in the Congo in the early 1960’s and how the troops largely prevented a full-scale civil war in that country. Gerry was a teletype installer and repairman in the Signals Corps, maintaining critical communications among the troops. Troops came from many countries and communications were of vital importance.
He also spoke proudly of the job done by Canadian peacekeepers, in the Congo, Egypt and other locations, saying they are some of the world’s finest soldiers. He spoke enthusiastically of Canada’s long and distinguished military history. His father landed in France on D-Day with the Nova Scotia Highlanders, and Gerry has kept the military tradition in the family.
Gerry showed us a flag which he proposed for Canada during the great flag debate in 1964 – remarkably similar to the final design chosen. He also passed around pictures of his father and an interesting photo of him with Miss Canada, a publicity shot taken when he served as a peacekeeper in Egypt!
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You can see a video of Gerry speaking of his experiences here: