WIKIMEDIA

Indigenous soldier to be commemorated with plaque in Flanders

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

A grassroots project to commemorate the life and death of a Cree soldier killed during the First World War is expected to come to fruition in November 2024 when a plaque is erected at the site where he died outside Passchendaele, Belgium.

Alexander Wuttunee DeCoteau, born on Red Pheasant Indian reserve south of Battleford, Sask., was a farmhand, blacksmith, police sergeant and soldier. He was also a star runner who competed at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• From Napoleonic-era ostentation to itchy fatigues: How uniforms evolved in WWI
• The Langemarck Myth: How WW I Germany turned loss into propaganda victory
• Passchendaele Museum locates sites where unknown WW I soldiers died

CBC/OPERATION MORNING LIGHT/IMPERATIVE PRODUCTIONS

Kosmic debris

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

Fallout from the Cold War ranged from economic and social ramifications between geopolitical rivals to space debris left behind by space-race projects. It was 46 years ago that radioactive pieces of the Soviet Union’s satellite Kosmos 954 crashed in Canada’s North. Still, the impact remains little known despite having far-reaching impacts on rural communities and the environment.

In mid-September 1977, the Soviets launched the uranium-powered. Its most likely purpose was the long-term monitoring of naval activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and United States. Only two months later, though, Kosmos became unstable, its orbit unpredictable. Despite Cold-War tensions, the Soviets met with the Americans to discuss the satellite’s anticipated crash—expected to come down in North America. Some officials predicted its uranium would cause worse nuclear contamination than an atomic bomb.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• Canadian women in the Persian Gulf War
• The Second World War’s strangest weapon
• The five-minute flying ace

Member Benefit Partner

Learn more

GEORGE METCALF ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/CWM/19920085-028

From Napoleonic-era ostentation to itchy fatigues: How uniforms evolved in WWI

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

They were hot in summer, barely passable in winter, invited lice, retained copious amounts of water, and they were itchy. But First World War uniforms represented a revolution in combat wear—and a decisive and practical departure from Napoleonic ostentation.

More than 30 nations declared war between 1914 and 1918. Their uniforms were a sartorial feast for the eyes—splashes of red, blue, white and gold. There were capes and greatcoats; kilts and kepis; busbies, bearskins and patent leather boots.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• The Langemarck Myth: How WW I Germany turned loss into propaganda victory
• Passchendaele Museum locates sites where unknown WW I soldiers died
• Stalemate: How the First World War reached a four-year impasse

DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE

Canadian women in the Persian Gulf War

STORY BY PAIGE JASMINE GILMAR

The Persian Gulf War began on Jan. 16, 1991. It was the first conflict in which Canadian women in the Canadian Armed Forces could serve in combat roles. And it was a crucial milestone in women’s rights, increasing female military recruitment rates in Canada and supporting the idea that female Canadian soldiers, sailors and aircrew could perform just as well as their male counterparts.It had been a long time coming. The CAF had opened almost every military trade to women only a couple of years earlier.

After Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the U.S. launched Operation Desert Shield, which included a buildup of military assets in the region and a naval blockade in the Persian Gulf in hopes of stymying a further Iraqi advance into oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council passed several resolutions, including a trade embargo, focused on forcing Iraq’s withdrawal from Kuwait.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• The Second World War’s strangest weapon
• The five-minute flying ace
• Painting the Battle of Ortona

Member Benefit Partner

Learn more