Kuwaiti medal honours first Gulf War veterans
Kurt Heinrich
Staff writer
April 03, 2006
After a decade of delay, a second batch of newly minted medals will be delivered to Canadian Gulf War veterans in appreciation from the Government of Kuwait for their help liberating the small oil-rich country during the first Gulf War.
“It’s a big to do to receive it,” says Marlowe Fraser, a Gulf War veteran and the former Vice President of the Canadian Gulf War Veterans Association. “It doesn’t matter how many years go by, especially for families, they see it as a recognition for what you’ve done.”
Fraser says Canada played an important part in the Gulf War, committing about 5,000 military personnel to Operation Friction. “We had a significant presence in the war,” he says. During the Gulf War, Canadians provided a field hospital on the ground, 26 CF-18 fighter jets in the air, and three warships including HMCS Protecteur in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf.
Getting the medals to the troops hasn’t been easy. Following the Gulf War, Canada, along with other countries, were given medals from the Government of Kuwait to hand out to their military members.
“All coalition forces were issued these medals. Other countries issued them right away, but Canada was reluctant,” says Fraser.
The reluctance stemmed from the Canadian government’s policy position of not distributing medals from foreign governments for which they have already issued medals, he says.
Since veterans were awarded a Canada Gulf and Kuwait Medal from the Canadian government after they returned from the Gulf, the Kuwaiti medals were stored by the Canadian embassy in Kuwait, but were never issued.
That would have been the end of it, except the Kuwaiti government decided to ship another batch of commemorative medals to Ottawa late last year to honour the 15 year anniversary of Operation Friction and to thank Canadians again for their participation in liberating the country.
The new medals were set to meet the same fate as their predecessors until Gulf War veterans led a campaign to compel the Canadian government to release the medals.
A ceremony was held for 80 Gulf War veterans at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Ottawa March 29. Other eligible veterans will receive their medals through the mail from the Kuwaiti Embassy.
Fraser estimates there will be about 100 Gulf War veterans who will receive their commemorative medal on the West Coast.
Any Canadian service personnel who served in the 1991 Gulf War and wishes to receive a medal are asked to contact Marlowe Fraser at Fraser.M@forces.gc.ca.
