To see all the images from this ceremony, GO TO THE GALLERY
An awards ceremony was held on the 4th October at the Canadian War Museum to present the Kuwait Liberation Medal to six Canadian Armed Forces veterans who served in that conflict 31 years ago. On hand to speak was the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Canada, Her Excellency Reem Alkhaled, former Prime Minister the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, who was the Prime Minister of Canada during this period. Also on hand was Mr. Harold Davis, President of the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada, Ms. Caroline Dromaguet, Interim President and CEO of the Canadian War Museum, with Dr. Birch of the War Museum acting as the master of ceremonies.
Dr. Birch opened the addresses and spoke of the contribution Canada made to this war and noted that it was the first conflict involving Canada since the Korean War. Canada contributed over 4,000 personnel involving the use of our aircraft and ships, with 2,700 being in theatre at one time at its peak. Operation Friction was the code name for the Canadian participation in Operation Desert Storm and involved the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova, HMCS Athabaskan, and the supply ship Protecteur along with CF-18s. Significantly, it was also the first time that Canadian female personnel served in a combat zone.
Mr. Davis started his address pointing out that recipients are not permitted to wear this medal with their other medals but that it must be worn on the right side. This is because Canada, the only country in the world, never viewed this conflict as war service but as a special operation. It was supported by the people, the government and seemed like an honourable endeavour, but the veterans are not granted the same benefits of veterans of other combat missions.
H.E. Alkhaled noted that she especially wanted to thank the veterans as the tanks of the Museum brought back memories for her as she was in Kuwait when it was occupied by Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi forces. She stated that she shared a “deep appreciation for Canada and Canadian veterans for your outstanding role in the liberation of the State of Kuwait”.
Mr. Mulroney followed the Ambassador and joked that “When I see a warm reception like this, one thought goes through my mind. Is it too late for a comeback?”. (I think he was joking!). He reviewed the lead-up to the war and he praised the troops who undertook the mission. He then shared some anecdotes about his efforts at that time with President George H.W. Bush (a.k.a. Bush Senior). 
He spoke about the time that he was invited to the White House four days after the invasion had begun to discuss what to do. At that time, Bush provided Mulroney with the raw CIA data from Kuwait which he read and found troubling. President Bush then told Prime Minister Mulroney to take the data with him back to Canada, so P.M. Mulroney got unaltered data directly. Later, around Labour Day, President Bush suggested that he and P.M. Mulroney divide up the allies and contact them to ensure that everyone was on the same page when they met later at the United Nations. One of those on Canada’s list was the President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak.
When P.M. Mulroney called President Mubarak he noted that Iraq had the fourth largest air force in the world and worried that Canada’s pilots would take unnecessary casualties. President Mubarak told the P.M. not to worry because, “Iraq has lousy pilots. I know, we trained them”.
P.M. Mulroney also mentioned the inequities caused to veterans by this conflict being designated a special operation and not war combat. He has written to the Minister of Defence, Anita Anand, and requested that the mission to Kuwait be reclassified to wartime service from special duties and take action to amend the Veterans Benefits Legislation. How that fares remains to be seen.
That concluded the addresses for the ceremony and set the stage for the presentation of medals. Recipients were Mr. Terry Toffoli, Mr. Sean Cassey, Mr. Ed Straw, Mr. Rick Corradini, Mr. Dwayne Sawyer, and Mr. John Beres. Other presentations followed the medals such as a Kuwait Liberation Medal presented to the Canadian War Museum for its collection, a Persian Gulf banner and plaque presented to H.E. Alkhaled by the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada, and a coin and banner presented to P.M. Mulroney, also by the Persian Gulf Veterans of Canada
This concluded the ceremony and people took the opportunity to mingle, take pictures with the Ambassador and former Prime Minister, and talk to and congratulate the recipients.
