Filip Konowal's Victoria Cross returned to Canadian War Museum (07/04/04)

Filip Konowal's Victoria Cross returned to Canadian War Museum

TORONTO - Officials have confirmed that Filip Konowal's Victoria Cross has been returned to the safekeeping of the Canadian War Museum, after having been missing for over 30 years.

On April 2 the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association's director of research, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, received an e-mail from Iain Stewart, who lives in Devon county, England, informing him that this VC, long thought to have been "misplaced" within the War Museum's collections, was for sale by Jeffrey Hoare Auctions, of London, Ontario.

The immediate intervention of Canadian War Museum officials and the RCMP prevented the sale, and authentication procedures conducted over the past few months have confirmed that the medal in question was a genuine Victoria Cross and indeed the one earned by Filip Konowal, a Ukrainian Canadian, for his valor during the Battle for Hill 70, near Lens, France, on August 22-23, 1917.

A recovery ceremony is being planned for August 23 at the Canadian War Museum, in concert with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) and the UCCLA.

Commenting on the news, John B. Gregorovich, UCCLA chairman and president of RCL Branch 360, said: "We were delighted when Konowal's Victoria Cross was found, and we celebrate the even better news that it will be returned to its rightful owners, the people of Canada. All of us will now have a chance to see this VC in the new Canadian War Museum."

He added, "We expect that Konowal's medal will be permanently displayed there, a reminder not only of this Ukrainian Canadian's valor but of all the sacrifices made by those Canadians who were distinguished with the highest medal that the British Empire ever bestowed, the Victoria Cross. And, most certainly, we look forward to learning just where Konowal's medal was these many years - a tale in its own right, yet to be fully told."

Joe Geurts, director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum, said: "The Canadian War Museum is delighted to announce the return of the Konowal Victoria Cross. ... It is a great day for the museum and for all Canadians, as the medal is an important part of our national collective heritage."

According to the museum, Konowal's story will be told in the World War I gallery of the new Canadian War Museum opening in May 2005 on LeBreton Flats. In a section of this gallery, the museum will present the internment of Ukrainian Canadians during the first world war. Konowal's story will juxtapose the fact that, while some Ukrainian immigrants were interned at home by their government as enemy aliens, others served with distinction overseas in the Canadian armed forces.

"The museum would like to congratulate the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on the swiftness of its investigation, resulting in the conclusion of this case and the return of the medal," added Mr. Geurts.

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