A simple ceremony commemorates the 11th anniversary of end of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 13-year mission in Afghanistan, much like the service retired Lt.-Col. Paul Paone attended on his final day in Kabul.

B次元官网网址淚t was typical Canadian low-key, no fanfare, no marching band ceremony,B次元官网网址� Paone told the Victoria B次元官网网址. They lowered the flag, handed it over to the ambassador and gathered for coffee, tea and a sticky bun before boarding a helicopter.

A March 12 event will serve a similar sentiment at the British Columbia Afghanistan Memorial at the corner of Courtney and Quadra streets in Victoria.

B次元官网网址淲e want to keep it as the same as we had, (a) quiet, respectful get together,B次元官网网址� Paone said.

Under the newly established BC Veterans Remembrance Association, representatives of the Canadian Forces, civilian and military police as well as veterans will gather to remember the 159 Canadian Armed Forces members and eight civilians killed during the mission. The ceremony will include the last post, two minutes of silence, the rouse and the Act of Remembrance.

Last yearB次元官网网址檚 more grandiose event was the first, to remind residents of the 40,000-plus Canadians deployed to Afghanistan between October 2001 and March 2014 B次元官网网址� the nationB次元官网网址檚 largest and longest mission since the Second World War.

B次元官网网址淲e were so terrified that CanadaB次元官网网址檚 longest war, 13 years, would be forgotten,B次元官网网址� Paone said. B次元官网网址淲e do not want Afghanistan to be like Korea and become CanadaB次元官网网址檚 second or third forgotten war. We want the sacrifice of the Canadian Forces and the civilians to be remembered.B次元官网网址�

This yearB次元官网网址檚 theme is all about including community, with dignitaries reading the names alongside well-known members of the community, and two veterans who lost schoolmates in the conflict.

B次元官网网址淭he memorial is more than just there for the veterans, the silver cross recipient families and the persons that have passed. ItB次元官网网址檚 a community monument,B次元官网网址� Paone said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 about reading the names. If you say the name out loud they will never be forgotten.B次元官网网址�

Canadians witnessed a steady stream of military funerals over the 13 years as the remains of 167 Canadian sailors, soldiers, air crew and civilians returned home in flag-draped caskets.

B次元官网网址淭he sacrifice of military members in the defence of Canada continues, but itB次元官网网址檚 not even as it was in the Afghanistan conflict when people got engaged with the highway of heroes B次元官网网址� we need to remember that this sacrifice continues regardless,B次元官网网址� said Gerald Pash, retired lieutenant commander.

More than 2,000 others were wounded or injured, and one-in-10 receive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders, with the experience complicit in the death of dozens more since, something Paone said theyB次元官网网址檙e working with Veterans Affairs Canada to recognize.

B次元官网网址淭here are more people to be attributed to the Afghan war that have passed,B次元官网网址� he said.

Citizens routinely take part in Remembrance Day on Nov. 11 and National Peacekeepers Day on Aug. 9, Pash noted, adding 80 per cent of Canadians today were born after the Second World War B次元官网网址� meaning todayB次元官网网址檚 civilian relationship between those who served or are serving has waned.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no conversation over the back fence anymore,B次元官网网址� Pash said. B次元官网网址淒uring the Afghanistan mission we had 40,000 people assigned to Afghanistan which was the largest contingent of Canadians since the Korean War.B次元官网网址�

The event to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the end of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 mission in Afghanistan is March 12 at 6:45 p.m. at the B.C. Afghanistan Memorial at the corner of Courtney and Quadra streets.

Did you know:

There are eight tomes dedicated to the dead which are usually held in the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, currently under restoration. Those killed in the Afghanistan war are listed in the Service of Canada Book of Remembrance. That book lists the names of more than 1,900 members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have died while serving Canada since Oct. 1, 1947 B次元官网网址� the day after eligibility for entry in the Second World War Book of Remembrance closed B次元官网网址�  excluding those commemorated in the Korean War Book of Remembrance. It includes those who died in conflict, peacetime training exercises, deployments abroad or other military duty.

The In the Service of Canada Book of Remembrance was dedicated Nov. 11, 2005 and includes a second volume with names from 2015 onward.