Fallen Heroes

More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan over the 14-year campaign. Very few Canadians understand why we were in Afghanistan and why it was important yet it was Canada’s longest war. Fallen Heroes is the template for a 10 part documentary series on the war in Afghanistan preserving this little known history for future generations.

Afghanistan was the most significant operation for the Canadian Armed Forces in two generations. The war in Afghanistan put Canada in the centre of the global map. Along with our NATO partners, we were commanding combat operations in Kandahar, ships in the Persian Gulf, and, unprecedented for Canada, we had Generals in command of all NATO forces.

It was an unusual time in Canadian history where both governing and opposition parties were working in concert in support of the war. All political obstacles and red tape were lifted to equip our soldiers in the field as effectively as possible. For an extended period of 5 years, Canada alone was responsible for security in the most volatile region of the country where we were punching far above our weight. We had an important seat at the table and gained an immeasurable amount of respect from other NATO nations. Our efforts were second only to the United States. Although certainly, the British contribution was as significant, proportionately Canada lost more soldiers than Britain and we were better equipped. Canada was the only country with tanks in the field, our pilots were the most daring, our snipers the best in the world, our infantry incredibly courageous and kinetic. And, uniquely Canadian, our soldiers brought their values into the field. Our soldiers were intuitively sensitive to the needs of the people and in Afghanistan they made life long friends with their Afghan partners. In many cases our soldiers would read the Koran ahead of their deployment in order to better understand the people they were going over to help.

Canada lost 159 soldiers and 4 civilians in Afghanistan. Three times that number came home with physical wounds and countless more with moral and stress injuries. Over 200 Canadian soldiers have committed suicide since their return home from the war.