Holopina Lake is named in memory of Sapper Christopher Gregory Holopina who was killed while serving in the Former Yugoslavia. It was dedicated by the province of Manitoba on 8 July 1996.
Christopher Gregory Holopina was born in October 1973 in Russell, MB near the border with Saskatchewan. He entered the work force after his schooling and later joined the military in March 1995. After completing his field engineer training, he was posted to 2 Combat Engineer Regiment. In December 1995 he deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina as part of the Canadian contingent to the Implementation Force (IFOR). Spr Holopina was killed in a vehicle accident in Ripač, Bihać, Bosnia Herzegovina on 4 Jul 1996, only a few days before he was to return to Canada.
Spr Holopina and 6 of his fellow soldiers were on their way to help rescue a group of British soldiers who were stranded in a minefield when, to avoid an accident, their Bison vehicle left the road and rolled down a ravine. Spr Holopina lost his life when the vehicle rolled over. He was the first Canadian soldier to lose his life in Bosnia under NATO command.
Sapper Christopher Gregory Holopina is interred at Saint John the Baptist Romanian Orthodox Cemetery in Shell Valley, north of Russell MB.
