Welcome to the
Canadian Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
Home Page
"Freedom"- The
state of being free ; exemption from slavery, servitude,
confinement, or constraint; liberty; independence; political
frankness; openness; unrestrictiveness; permission;
liberality; particular privileges.
Webster's Dictionary
"Recognition"-
The act of recognizing or the state of being
recognized; formal acknowledgment, conveying
approval or sanction; the acknowledgment of
something as valid or as entitled to consideration.
Webster's Dictionary
Since 1959 when the United states officially
entered the Vietnam war approximately 40,000 Canadians voluntarily joined
and served beside their brothers and sisters from the United States in
all branches of the U.S. armed forces. Who can explain as to why they volunteered
to serve in Vietnam. Perhaps it was because they believed in the right
to choose, the right to liberty, the right of unrestrictiveness and privilege.
Maybe they believed in Freedom and chose to fight for it. Sometimes we
take what we have for granted, for those of us who enjoy freedom on an
every day basis, we have those who fought for it to thank.
This site is dedicated to all Veterans
who fought for us !
There are Fifty
Eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Nine ( 58,209 ) names inscribed on the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., one hundred and three (103)
of those names are of known Canadians who served and did not return from
the Vietnam war. Although these Veterans where honored along with their
fellow brothers and sisters from the United States they were never recognized
by their own country, Canada. For over a century Canada and the United
States have stood side by side not only as neighbours, but as one when
it came to the freedom that both countries cherish. There are several Vietnam
Veterans Memorial's located in Canada and in no way do we wish to diminish
the importance of any of these memorials. The significance of the Canadian
Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, is that a small
group in Michigan U.S.A. called M.A.C.V. (Michigan Association of Concerned
Veterans), felt that their Canadian brothers and sisters,
who gave their lives for the lives of others deserved to be recognized
and accounted for, at home in Canada. This small group of Veterans proceeded
to make this dream a reality, They fought through the many hardships that
comes with caring, they designed, built, and donated the memorial to be
placed on Canadian soil, making this Memorial very special to the families
of those who gave their lives for the freedom of others.
The Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
dubbed as the " North Wall " rests comfortably in Windsor's assumption
park, overlooking the Detroit river and the city of Detroit, continually
sharing the bond between Canada and the United States. There are one hundred
and three ( 103 ) names of known Canadians engraved on the center panel
of the " North Wall " . Included in those names are seven people listed
as MIA's/BNR. . You may have noticed the phrase " known Canadians ". That
is because the Canadian government had passed the " Foreign Enlistment
Act " in 1937 and this act was still in effect during the Vietnam war.
Foreign Enlistment Act :
- Any person, who being a Canadian national, whether
within or residing outside Canada voluntarily accepts or agrees to accept
any commission or engagement in the armed forces of any foreign state at
war with any friendly state.... is guilty of an offense of this act.
At the time Vietnam was considered a
friendly state by Canada ( very ironic since they allowed and encouraged
the business sector to manufacture and supply war materials to south
Vietnam and the Canadian government itself supplied over 27 million
dollars in financial aid to South Vietnam ), making it illegal
to serve in the U.S. armed forces. However, the U.S. military found a loop
hole in the act and accepted volunteers from Canada. The biggest downfall
to the Canadians who volunteered was the fact that they had to list a U.S.
city or town as place of birth. After the war, there were no records of
Canadians who had served in the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam. However,
through extensive and painfully slow research, some but not all of these
volunteers were identified. Unfortunately , we may never know exactly how
many have not been found and /or accounted for.
Follow The Brothers
To Continue The Tour
