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The artifacts include signs from Camp “Canada Dry,” where Canadian fighter squadrons were based during the Gulf War, an Iltis patrol vehicle that was riddled with bullets during the peacekeeping mission in Croatia and boots worn by a soldier who earned the Star of Military Valour in the battle for the “White School” in Afghanistan.

Photo by Julie Oliver / Postmedia

In many cases, museum staff were able to gather first-hand accounts from people who “lived and breathed it,” said historian Andrew Burtch, long before the archival material is available as it would be for earlier conflicts.

They’ve been open in sharing their stories as the museum recounts the past “respectfully but honestly,” blending personal experience with a broader understanding of the “context and consequences” of the missions, with the controversial Canadian mission to Somalia as an example.

“It underlines the fact that involvement in these missions overseas is incredibly complex and more complex than perhaps is appreciated at the time they were launched,” Burtch said. “So we try to put the focus as much as possible on the individual on the ground and what their experiences were and how they on the personal level tried to cope with what were in some cases impossible situations.”

Three artifacts from the newly-updated Gallery 4 at the Canadian War Museum

Gulf War, 1990-1991

When Canadian troops were deployed to the Persian Gulf, they were ready for a terrifying threat — a chemical weapon attack.