11/11/2025
Today we remember all that have fought and died in various conflicts. On this day we take pause to remember, Gerry Boijole
GERALD BOISJOLIE 1944-2016
Gerry joined the military (land) in 1962 at the age of 17. After basic training he continued on with training for the elite Airborne Unit.
His first deployment was in Germany where Canada had set up bases to help revitalize their former foe. He was stationed in Fort Macleod, Germany. These bases had been first set up in Germany in about 1951.
When he returned to Canada he was sent to the Arctic where there were bases set up along the DEW line (Distant Early Warning). While there he was involved with scientists looking for evidence of the Franklin Expedition.
Upon returning to Edmonton, he was quickly deployed to Palestine. Following World War 2 and the establishment of the United Nations, it was decided on a Plan of Partition that proposed an independent Arab State and an independent Jewish state and the City of Jerusalem. It was rejected by the Arab Palestinians and the Arab league. Within a few days full scale Jewish-Arab fighting broke out in Palestine. The UN sent in troops from various UN countries to stay between the fighting factions, hoping that if they could stop the fighting they might be able to bring peace between the two groups.
He spent time in Gaza from 1967 to 1968. They spent time keeping the two factions apart in Aswan, Cairo, Rafah, Sinai, Jerusalem, Port Said, and Bethlehem and in parts of Lebanon.
Gerry was there during the 1967 Six-Day War trying, along with his fellow troops to maintain some order and some help for the refugees.
Gerry was also part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) twice, patrolling the “Green Line” a no man’s land or demilitarized zone (United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus) between the two fighting factions-the Greeks and the Turks.
He was headquartered in the Blue Beret Camp next to the abandoned airport of Nicosia. He was part of a battalion-sized contingent of peace-support troops. There were some 25,000 Canadian forces members sent to Cyprus on 59 rotations. The operation name “Snowgoose” was originally made up of 1 Commando, Canadian Airborne Regiment and the Airborne Field Squadron but was quickly augmented in response to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that began in July of 1974.
After a parachute accident Gerry was retrained as a chef but was still deployed with his former colleagues.
In 1976 he was sent to Egypt-again to separate two clashing factions.
Egypt is home to the Suez Canal a very important waterway which allows ship traffic between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The Canal remained under the control of British and French interests after the Second World War. In 1956, after years of tension between Egypt and these countries, Egypt seized control of the waterway. France, the United Kingdom and Israel were upset by this act and decided to act together to forcibly change the situation. Later that year, Israel invaded Egypt and pushed on toward the Suez Canal. The British and French then landed troops of their own along the Canal to secure it. The United Nations called for a cease-fire and withdrawal of foreign forces from Egypt.
Canada’s Minister of External Affairs, Lester B. Pearson, called for the creation of a multinational armed force to go into Egypt to help restore peace and prevent a major international confrontation. The UN members agreed to this plan, which would be monitored and enforced by a UN force under the command of another Canadian, Lieutenant-General “Tommy” Burns. The modern era of peacekeeping was established. This is where the Blue Berets and helmets worn by UN peacekeepers became one of the most well know symbols of today’s international peace support movements.
By the time Gerry was deployed there, the UN had been monitoring the border area between Israel and Egypt but then tensions heightened leading up to the Six-Day War. Following the Yom Kippur War in 1973, where Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli forces, the UN was again called in to maintain peace in the region which they did. That mission came to an end in 1979.
The members of the CAF serving with the United Nations showed bravery and skill during these missions. Once active fighting came to an end, if it did, the peacekeepers had to broker countless small but delicate negotiations involving matters like prisoner exchanges and recovery of war dead.
International peace missions often have positive effects but the strife, conflict and death that can surround these efforts is not always easy to handle. Being separated from friends and family for months at a time, the possibility of witnessing extreme violence and cruelty, of having to use force or have force used against you and the realization that you could be killed or wounded while you carry out your duties are some of the experiences that many Canadian Armed Forces Veterans know well.
276 Canadians have been killed and hundreds of other maimed physically and mentally while serving on peace support operations. A heavy cost for sure. These brave soldiers are recognized at Peace Keepers day which is held in August in Garrison Green, Calgary.
