M ark Brooks spent twenty-four years in the Canadian Armed Forces. During that time, he also had a six-month tour of UN peacekeeping duty on Cypress in 1981. Brooks' daughter, Shannon was three and one half years old and his son Matthew was three months old when he left for Cyprus. His wife, Judy, also a member of the military, carried the family burdens by herself during her husband's absence. "The families are the ones who are the heroes," said Brooks, "because they're the ones who have to hold it together at home."

F or the modern soldier, peacekeeping is an important element of the job. But it's become an extremely dangerous occupation, especially for Canadians walking into hot spots like Bosnia, Rwanda and Somalia. Our soldiers accept the hazardous work when they join the military. Brooks believes Canadians can play an important role in peacekeeping.

W hen he marches in the Remembrance Day service, Brooks says he's proud of being a UN veteran.