It was constructed piece by piece, over time, as the number of the fallen increased; each plaque a solid reminder of what happened, the soldiers’ own memorial to their lost comrades.

For years, the Afghan memorial resided inside the Canadian headquarters compound at Kandahar Airfield. From 2006 until the mission in southern Afghanistan ended in 2011, the memorial was a living thing, constantly being added to, the site of much grieving.

Visitors view the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.

PHOTO: ADAM DAY

Now, the war is over and the memorial has followed the soldiers home. Eventually, it will be given a permanent home in the Ottawa area, but for now it will tour the country, part of the closing ceremonies for the mission in Afghanistan kicked off by the National Day of Honour on May 9.

The tour–dubbed the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil–will continue across Canada throughout the summer and into the fall. From Ottawa it went to the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., and then to stops in Quebec.

The vigil commemorates 158 CAF personnel, a Canadian diplomat, a DND contractor, a Canadian journalist who was embedded with the CAF and more than 40 United States Armed Forces members who died under Canadian command during operations in Afghanistan.

In addition to the memorial itself, there are a few significant artifacts from the mission included in the vigil. Most notably, there is a wooden beam taken from a Canadian bunker in Panjwaii upon which is inscribed a poem written by a Canadian soldier to memorialize the death of his comrade, Private Terry Street. “We left our homes and all we held dear/To come and fight and meet our death/And remind the world lest you forget/That honour and courage are not just words/But ways of life we proudly served.”

Street died in an IED strike in 2008.

There is also a book with details on each of the fallen, and the camouflage bagpipe used at ramp ceremonies to send off the fallen in Kandahar.

“We are pleased to offer Canadians across this great nation an opportunity to visit the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil,” said Canadian Joint Operations Command commander Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare. “This vigil demonstrates the service and sacrifice of so many, while providing a place to learn about what servicemen and women fought for and the great deeds they and their teammates performed—for each other—and for Canada.”

Where And When Can You See The Vigil?
Toronto, June 27 to July 2
Petawawa, Ont., July 8-11
Victoria, July 21-26
Vancouver, July 29-Aug. 2
Edmonton, Aug. 11-16
Calgary, Aug. 25-29
Regina, Sept. 2-6
Shilo, Man., Sept. 9-13
Winnipeg, Sept. 16-20
Fredericton, Sept. 29-Oct. 4
Charlottetown, Oct. 7-11
Halifax, Oct. 14-18
St. John’s, Nfld., Oct. 22-26
For detailed information, visit: www.forces.gc.ca/en/honours-history-military-memorials/Afghanistan-memorial-vigil.page.