Before September 11, 2001, most Canadians weren’t very concerned with what was happening across the world in Afghanistan. Indeed, many Canadians knew little to nothing about Afghanistan and knew even less about the Taliban. When the Twin Towers fell on that Tuesday in September, the words “Afghanistan” and “Taliban” jumped to the front pages of newspapers and scrolled across television screens.

Now, the words “Afghanistan” and “Taliban” are ingrained in our collective consciousness. It has already been over two decades since the Canadian Armed Forces first set foot on Afghan soil. Canada’s war there, from 2001 to 2014, is the longest in our history. It is also Canada’s largest military deployment since WWII, with over 40,000 military personnel serving on land, sea and air.

In all, 159 Canadian soldiers were killed and several thousand more were injured. But what do Canadians really know about this place, this war, and the people who fought it? What were we doing there? What was it like? What did we accomplish? The following exhibit is based on the reflections of the soldiers who went there.