BRAMA, Aug 23, 2005, 9:00 am ET
Press release
Canadian Victoria Cross Winner Honoured in France
Toronto, 22 August 2005 Today, in Lens, France, Filip Konowal, the only Ukrainian Canadian
ever to have been presented with the highest military medal awarded by
the British Empire, the Victoria Cross, was remembered near the
battlefield where his valour in August 1917 earned him that
distinction.
Organized by Toronto's Branch #360 of The Royal Canadian Legion, in
collaboration with the City of Lens, the Royal Westminster Regiment
Association and the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, a
trilingual bronze plaque was unveiled today in the presence of a large
audience, including dignitaries representing the governments of
Ukraine, France, Great Britain and Canada.
Speaking on behalf of the Ukrainian Canadian community, Dr Lubomyr
Luciuk, UCCLA's director of research, said:
" Konowal's valour has now been marked, not only with plaques across
Canada and in his home village of Kutkivchi, Ukraine, but here, near
Hill 70, where he demonstrated his willingness to fight for the
freedom of the country where Liberty, Fraternity and Equality were
proclaimed as the ideals for which all good men and women must
struggle. On behalf of the Ukrainian Canadian community, and our
supporters here in France, Canada, Ukraine and Great Britain, we thank
everyone who helped make today's act of recognition possible. By
doing so we hallow not only Filip Konowal's memory but also the
thousands of other Canadian soldiers who came here more than 90 years
ago, many of whom now rest in French soil, having paid the ultimate
sacrifice during the Great War For Civilization."
To contact Dr Lubomyr Luciuk phone (613) 546-8364
For more information on the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties
Association go to www.uccla.ca
For more information on Filip Konowal, VC, go to www.infoukes.com/history/konowa
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