History Browser

Korean war veteran Don Hibbs recalls the Princess Patricias' heroic stand at the Battle of Kap'yong.

Royal 22nd Regiment prepares to help resolve dispute with Mohawks at Oka, Quebec.

Two days after he was found guilty of the beating death of Shidane Arone, a Somali teenager, Private Elvin Kyle Brown is sentenced to five years in jail and is dismissed with disgrace from the Canadian Armed Forces. His lawyer, Patrick McCann, reports that Brown is relieved with the outcome.

TV clip explaining the historical creation of the French-Canadian Van Doos (Royal 22nd Regiment).

Silent film of Royal 22nd troops training in the snow before shipping out for the sunny Mediterranean.

Interview with Sergent Ronnie Smith, Corporal Patrick Couture, and Captain Hercule Gosselin of Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in which they describe their experiences as part of the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia. They describe how they feel that the schools they built, the infrastructure they developed and the people they saved are all being overlooked by Canadians due to media coverage of a few isolated incidents.

Reporter Jim Day witnesses the curious removal of an unconscious soldier from a holding cell in Belet Huen. He finds out that the soldier, Corporal Clayton Matchee, has attempted suicide. The rest of the story – one of torture, murder, racism, aggression and denial - will unfold over the next four years. In this CBC Television report, Paul Adams indicates that four soldiers have been taken into custody for the murder of a Somali man.

At the dawn of the Cold War, Somalia had aligned itself with the Soviet Union; when this alliance dissolved, the United States forged a coalition with the African country. As the Cold War thawed, however, the partnership weakened and the U.S. withdrew. As infrastructure and order collapsed, famine spread through the country. When the 900 Canadian soldiers landed in Somalia on December 15, 1992, they tried to draw order from the chaos with Operation Deliverance.

Video footage of Day 3 of General Jean Boyle's testimony at the Somalia Inquiry. Boyle has come under fire for allegedly running interference between the press and the army's public relations department, reporting that he was unaware of any alterations to documentation. The documents in question are RTQ's (Response to Queries), internal briefing documents prepared for those who deal with the media.

Report on rebels within the Two Commando unit, part of the Canadian Airborne Regiment. Five soldiers from this unit were barred from participating in the Somalia mission, but some may have gone to Belet Huen. Members of the Two Commando unit were involved in many of the scandals that took place in Somalia during their peacekeeping mission there.