ARTIFACTS
By Sharon Adams
The Taliban nailed letters to villagers’ doors (translated here), warning them not to co-operate with Canadian troops.
Mementoes from Afghanistan Uniforms, equipment and explosives are reminders of Canada’s involvement in Southwest Asia
T
hough fresh in memory, the war in Afghanistan has entered the annals of national history. Aside from personal mementoes brought home by military and civilian personnel, museums have begun building their collections of artifacts. Bruce Tascona, director of Legion House Museum in Winnipeg, carefully lays out an artifact from the war in Afghanistan, an IED —improvised explosive device—confiscated from a captured terrorist. “We were using the latest in technology, smart bombs and the like, and facing an enemy that made weapons from stuff you could get at any hardware store,” said Tascona. Explosives and shrapnel—ball bearings, nails and screws, tin cans cut into bits—would have been packed around this detonator, two roughcut pieces of pressboard, a pair of springs, some wires, a battery. A soldier’s weight would compress the
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springs, completing an electrical circuit to the detonator, blowing up the explosives (and the person who stepped on it) and peppering everyone nearby with deadly shrapnel. IEDs accounted for nearly two-thirds of Canada’s 158 military deaths in Afghanistan and many, many wounds. It has been over 15 years since Canada joined the international campaign against terrorism in Southwest Asia and three years since the Canadian flag was lowered in Afghanistan in March 2014. More than 40,000 Canadian military personnel were involved in the war. Canadian ships joined the international fleet operating in the Persian Gulf
Legion House Museum
2017-01-27 9:21 AM
