Izzy's Story

The legacy of a Canadian soldier and the power of love

- Shirley O'Connell, Perth, Ont.

We think of our soldiers as being tough, dedicated, and highly trained to serve and fight for peace to protect Canada, and to help protect all the innocent victims of war around the world. Little do we know, think or hear about the humanitarian side of each and every soldier who puts his or her life on the line every day in the service of peace.

This is only one story of a Canadian unit— the 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1CER)— which lost one of their own, MCpl. Mark (Izzy) Isfeld, on peacekeeping operations in Croatia in 1994.

In 1993, while on tour in Croatia with his regiment, MCpl. Isfeld drove into a village and noticed something on a pile of rubble by a destroyed house. Although it looked like a small child, it was actually a life-size doll. He took a photo and, on his next leave home to Courtney, B.C., he showed it to his parents, Brian and Carol Isfeld. Mark said, “Look, Mom: A little child has lost her doll and a doll her little child.” Remembering his happy upbringing in Canada, he added, “These kids don’t have a childhood.”