Ontario Peacekeeping Association marks 75th anniversary with ceremony in Angus

Over the past 75 years, over 125,000 Canadian peacekeepers have participated in missions worldwide.

The milestone anniversary was marked at the Peacekeepers Park in Angus Wednesday.

President of the Central Ontario Peacekeeping Association Fern Taillefer says this 75th anniversary is about the recognition and commemoration of peacekeepers, both past and present.

"This is very important for people to remember what our Canadian soldiers have done because on the wall behind me are the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice doing peacekeeping duties, and that's what this is all about, to remember them," says Taillefer.

Retired Major General Lewis Mackenzie, who spent more than thirty years with the Canadian armed forces, was in attendance. He served nine peacekeeping tours of duty with the united nations.

On August 9th, 1974, nine Canadian peacekeepers were killed when their UN plane was shot down over Syria.

"It's a tragedy we all remember. Largest loss of peacekeepers in one day in our history, going back to 1956/57. That's how far the history goes back. So, it's a high point or a low point depending on how you look at it, but it brings people together," says Mackenzie.

Officials say everyone should recognize peacekeepers' work for our country over the decades.

Silver Cross mother, Carol Collier, lost her son Brian at 24 while he was on duty in Afghanistan in 2010. She says she is proud of what he achieved and misses him dearly.

"He became a Canadian combat engineer, and he chose the base in Edmonton because it was close to the Rocky Mountains, and he loved his winter sports. He was an exceptionally good engineer. He loved it, the camaraderie and the feeling of family. We miss him terribly. They went out and did what they were asked to do," says Collier.

Along with a parade, another special touch at Wednesday's ceremony was a C-130 fly-over.