The time to remember this weekend will come with a few visual aids and a bit of St. Albert’s history as well. The MusĂ©e HĂ©ritage Museum has just brought in a temporary exhibit on the city’s war past as a way of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
Director of heritage Shari Strachan said that it was difficult to bring a local connection into the display.
“Finding soldiers who served – who were actually from St. Albert – wasn’t easy,” she began.
That’s why they decided that the main focus of the exhibit would be about Gerard ‘Gerry’ Harnois, the great nephew of Father Albert Lacombe. Although he was born in the town of St. Albert, it was because of his connection to one of the founders that made him most significant.
The Korean War saw approximately 27,000 Canadian troops involved between 1950 and 1953, with 516 perishing in the conflict. It was the third largest of all UN forces participating, behind only the United States and Great Britain.
Strachan said that it was important to create this exhibit because many people remain unaware of this war, why it took place and what the result was.
“It doesn’t get a lot of attention. Even the vets themselves say that they’ve been overlooked within the military because it wasn’t an official war. It was a police action.”
“They still experience the horrors of war and came back with that. It was really important that we recognize it locally to say that people from all over Canada – not just from the big cities – were affected by every war, including the Korean War.”
Harnois started his nearly 30-year career by joining the Canadian army in 1944 to serve in the Second World War. He survived along with two of his brothers who also served in Europe but one brother was killed. Gerry later re-enlisted to fight in Korea, serving with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, and was a peacekeeper during the Suez Crisis in Egypt.
He received a number of decorations including the France and Germany Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the 1939-1945 Medal, the Korean Medal, and the UN Service Medal, among others.
He lived in Calgary during his later years but moved back to the city in 1982 to become the director of the Vital Grandin Centre. He also helped to found the St. Albert Historical Society and played a major role in the creation of the Musée itself.
He died in 1992 as a man immersed in history who played a part in major world events and later kept the significance of the past alive for others.
The museum will also have activities and visitors will also have the opportunity to try on military uniforms, helmets, jackets, tunics and other gear. Strachan said that this interactivity is meant to offer some deeper insights into what soldiers actually go through.
The blog can be found by clicking on the orange ‘B’ button at the bottom of the museum’s website or by going directly to museeheritagemuseum.blogspot.ca. The recent posts from the last week feature commentary from heritage programmer Roy Toomey’s summer trip to Vimy Ridge, Normandy, Dieppe and other world war sites in Europe. He titled his blog posts “Pilgrimage of Remembrance, 2013.”
The Remembrance Day exhibit runs until Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The museum will be open on Monday, Nov.11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during Remembrance Day. It’s located inside St. Albert Place at 5 St. Anne Street.
For more information, call 780-459-1528 or visit www.museeheritage.ca.
