Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The Canadian Vietnam Veterans' Memorial was dedicated on July 2, 1995, in honour of the Canadian veterans who were Killed in Action (KIA), made Prisoners of War (POW), or declared Missing in Action (MIA) during the Vietnam War.



History
Canada was officially a non-belligerent during the Vietnam War. However, around 30,000 Canadian citizens enlisted with the United States Armed Forces in order to serve during the Vietnam War.

In 1986, the Canadian Vietnam Veterans' Welcome Home Committee was formed by American Vietnam War veterans Ric Gidner and Ed Johnson. Gidner and Johnson were inspired by Canadian Vietnam Veterans that they met during the 1980s, and formed the Committee as an effort to have a monument created and dedicated to the Canadian veterans of the Vietnam War. The Committee was later re-formed Michigan Association of Concerned Veterans (MACV). Gidner, Johnson, and Chris Reynolds formed committees with Canadian organizations and campaigned to have the Canadian federal government erect a memorial in the capital, Ottawa, Ontario. In 1994, a Bill to erect the memorial failed to pass through Parliament, however. In the meantime, the members of the MACV used private funds to pay for the building of a memorial from black granite, the same material from which the United States' Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was built. In 1995, the office of the Mayor of Windsor, Michael Hurst, contacted MACV about locating the memorial in Windsor. The initiative was passed by the City Council of Windsor, and the memorial was dedicated on July 2. Canadian and American veterans' organizations attended the dedication, as well as Canadian Senator Jack Marshall and Michael Hurst.

The memorial is 11 feet high, with a 15 foot span. It is engraved with the names of the more than 100 soldiers who were killed or declared missing in action, located along the Ambassador Park along the riverfront.