Canadian War Museum updates its galleries to include recent conflicts

Master Corporal Martin Rouleau marked his helmet to track the firefights and  bomb blasts he endured during his  2009 Afghanistan tour. (Canadian War Museum 20100094-001)

The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa has updated its Gallery 4: From the Cold War to the Present to include Canada’s involvement in recent international conflicts.

Artifacts from Canadian operations in the Gulf War, Somalia, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan are now part of the exhibition.

“The events covered in this section of Gallery 4 are within living memory for most of our visitors,” said Stephen Quick, director general of the Canadian War Museum. “This update allows us to better share the experiences of the people who faced some of the world’s most difficult problems overseas. We hope to provide visitors with a sense of how these missions have affected Canada and the world.”

In addition to examining Canada’s various roles in each conflict, this section also explores issues such as genocide, child soldiers, and the impact of landmines and improvised explosive devices.

Cheaply produced and easily hidden, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) killed more Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan than by any other means. Left: oil jug filled with homemade explosives. Right: disarmed pressure-cooker bomb. (Lent by the Directorate of History and Heritage, Department of National Defence).