We Will Remember Them:
War Memorials in New Brunswick
War Memorials By Conflict
One of the most challenging aspects of studying war memorials is that there is no formula to their construction. Memorials do not have to be dedicated to a single conflict, or to any conflict at all. Many memorials are dedicated to "All Veterans," or to "Those who paid the supreme sacrifice." Others are clearly dedicated to the memory of one conflict in particular.
One of the ways to determine to which conflict a particular memorial was dedicated is by looking at the erection date. For example, if a memorial was constructed in the 1920s, it is more than likely that it commemorates the First World War (1914-18). There are very few memorials that commemorate specifically the Boer War (1899-1902).
When looking at the map with the conflicts symbolized, one aspect becomes particularly clear: No one conflict is overwhelmingly represented. Memorials, for example, to both World Wars number 29, while memorials to the Great War alone also number 29, and there are 23 memorials for the World Wars combined with Korea.
This is consistent with the theme elsewhere in the country, and indeed the world, where the First World War was more heavily memorialized than any other. This is, in part, because after the Second World War, monies that would otherwise have been directed to constructing war memorials were used instead for the reconstruction of the damaged areas of Europe. Many historians would argue that the greatest memorial to the Second World War is the society the veterans created upon their return from war.
The graph on the left shows memorials in New Brunswick by conflict represented. For example, if a memorial, built in say 1965, was erected to commemorate the Great War, the Second World War, and Korea, it is shown under each one of those bars. This shows the trend of commemoration over time and also makes it very clear that memorialization of the two World Wars is very prevalent.
Afghanistan
The map below is symbolized by conflict, with the memorials to Afghanistan highlighted by a red diamond.
There are 14 memorials in the province to the Afghanistan War. The War in Afghanistan began in 2001 and the Canadian government withdrew its troops in 2013. Many of the 14 memorials were erected during the conflict itself. The Afghanistan War is the only war in which that is the case. It is interesting that so many communities decided to commemorate the war so soon after it ended, most of them were erected during the conflict. The Afghanistan War was, and remains, a very controversial conflict; however, that does not seem to have affected its memorialization. It is also very interesting to note that the memorials are spread widely around the province. They are not concentrated at CFB Gagetown as one might expect.
This also expresses the fact that though commemoration can sometimes be controversial (i.e. the White Poppy Campaign) people still feel the need and desire to erect monuments in honour of their war dead. It also indicates that memorials will continue to pop up as we move into the post-Afghanistan War world.