Corporal Michael William Simpson Plaque

The Corporal Michael William Simpson Plaque was dedicated on 9 August 2022. Corporal Simpson enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1965, aged 16.

In late 1973, Canadian Forces took part in the Second United Nations Emergency Force, to supervise the ceasefire between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Included in Canada's commitment to the mission were two Canadian Forces Buffalo aircrafts and crew. The unit was stationed in Ismailia, Egypt, a small city next to the Suez Canal.

The single highest loss of Canadian lives since Canada began to participate in international peace missions involved their presence in Syria. Nine Canadian Armed Forces members with the United Nations peace mission in Egypt were killed on 9 August 1974 when their Buffalo aircraft 115461 was shot down in a Syrian missile attack while making a routine supply run to the mission in the Golan Heights. For this reason, August 9 has been declared National Peacekeepers' Day in Canada. Corporal Simpson, 26, was one of the nine Canadian Forces members killed. 

Cpl. Michael William Simpson
1948-1974

Cpl. Michael William Simpson, of Highland Creek, attended Meadowvale PS, St. Martin
de Porres SS and West Hill CI. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1965, aged 16.

Cpl. Simpson served at CFB Petawawa from 1967, volunteering for deployment to the
United Nations Emergency Force Middle East, based at Ismailia, Egypt, in 1974. UNEFME
supervised the ceasefire between Egyptian and Israeli forces after the October War of 1973.

Cpl. Simpson, 26, was one of nine Canadian Forces members killed on August 9, 1974, on
UN Flight 51 from Ismailia, Egypt, via Beirut, Lebanon, to Damascus, Syria. Soon after
crossing Lebanese - Syrian border, Syrian forces fired upon them. The unarmed
aircraft was destroyed, killing all aboard. It remains the greatest loss of life in a single
incident in more than 75 years of Canadian peacekeeping operations.

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario proclaimed every August 9 as "an appropriate
day to recognize Canadian Peacekeepers" in 2004. Canada's Parliament passed
"An Act Respecting a National Peacekeepers' Day" in honour of our Peacekeepers in 2008.
It reads in part: "Throughout Canada, in each and every year, the ninth of August shall be
known as National Peacekeepers' Day."

Dedicated by Family and Friends - August 9, 2022