Peacekeeper Park is an urban park

Urban park

An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

. The park is located in the neighbourhood of North Glenmore, on the former grounds of Canadian Forces Base Calgary. The park includes a memorial wall with the names of Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 members who have given their lives on peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

 and peace support missions with the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, NATO and other organizations since the end of the Second World War, including the current mission in Afghanistan.

Description

The park encompasses 1.85 hectares and includes a memorial Wall of Honour and statuary dedicated to Canadian peacekeepers. The statue depicts a Canadian peacekeeper giving an "Izzy" doll to a child. The "Izzy" doll is named after peacekeeper Mark Isfeld, whose mother crocheted small dolls for him to give to local children while on patrols during his peacekeeping tour. Isfeld's name is one of those on the wall of the park, as he was killed by a landmine in Croatia on 21 June 1994.

A public playground is also hosted by the City of Calgary on the grounds.

History

The park was built in 2004 in an area previously known as Lincoln Park, which during the Second World War had been an airfield of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...

. It was anticipated at the time of construction that the memorial wall would have enough space to last for 60 years due to the low mortality rate of Canadian peacekeeping missions. When the decision was made to include Canadian fatalities from the mission in Afghanistan, the wall was quickly populated and fundraising efforts were initiated to install a second wall to accommodate the growing list of soldiers to be commemorated.

Events

The park is the focus of the annual Peacekeeper Day commemorations in Calgary, recognized nationally on August 9, the anniversary of an air crash in 1974 that killed nine Canadian peacekeepers of the UNEF

United Nations Emergency Force

The first United Nations Emergency Force was established by United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the 1956 Suez Crisis with resolution 1001 on November 7, 1956. The force was developed in large measure as a result of efforts by UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and a proposal...

 mission. This event was commemorated in 2005 when a monument to the "Buffalo Nine" was dedicated a few blocks away at another new park called "Buffalo Park." On August 9, 1974, Canadian Forces Buffalo 115461

Buffalo 461

Buffalo 461 was a Canadian military De Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo assigned to the second United Nations Emergency Force force in Syria in support of United Nations Security Council Resolution 340...

 was making a scheduled supply flight from Ismaila

Ismaila

Ismaila is a town and Union Council of Swabi District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 34°13'0N 72°15'0E...

, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 to Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 when it was shot down by surface to air missiles. Nine Canadians were killed, marking the worst ever single day of loss for Canadian peacekeepers. It is the anniversary of this event, August 9, that has been declared a national National Peacekeepers' Day

National Peacekeepers' Day

National Peacekeepers' Day is an official remembrance day for Canadian veterans of military peacekeeping activities. It is officially marked on 9 August of each year and observed on the closest Sunday....

in Canada. The monument in Buffalo Park consists of a propeller from a Buffalo aircraft and a stone marker and plaque.