Filip Konowal honored in France, at site of his World War I heroism (08/28/05)

Filip Konowal honored in France, at site of his World War I heroism

LENS, France - On August 22, 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 valor 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, the ceremonies featured the unveiling of a trilingual bronze plaque in the presence of a large audience, including dignitaries representing the governments of Ukraine, France, Great Britain and Canada.

Konowal received the Victoria Cross in 1917 from King George V. Konowal died in 1959, and his award was acquired in 1969 by the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Sometime around 1973 Konowal's Victoria Cross was reported missing, apparently having been stolen. It was found last year when it was to be auctioned in London, Ontario. Today it is on permanent exhibit in the Canadian War Museum's gallery dedicated to World War I.

Speaking in Lens on behalf of the Ukrainian Canadian community, Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, UCCLA's director of research, said: "Konowal's valor 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," Dr. Luciuk continued, "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.' "

Konowal was previously honored in Canada when Branch 360 of the Royal Canadian Legion and its supporters placed four trilingual markers honoring him across the country. In 2000 the branch erected a statue in Konowal's village of Kutkivchi in Ukraine.

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