Canadian soldiers who came under attack from Croatian forces while trying to enforce a UN ceasefire in the former Yugoslavia were awarded a special medal of honour in Winnipeg Sunday.

Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson presented members of the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry with the Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation.

The award was created to recognize outstanding service by soldiers who come under direct fire.

Adrienne Clarkson reviews the troops

In 1993, members of the Canadian battle group stood their ground as they were attacked near a Serb enclave in an area of Croatia known as the Medak Pocket.

Croat forces were advancing on Serb paramilitaries, and as the Canadians entered the battle zone, they were met by machine-gun fire, grenades and mortar shells. Some took shelter in barns and houses.

Clarkson praised the Canadians for fighting back.

The Winnipeg Arena

"In those 15 hours on Sept. 15, you represented the concerns and the crediblity of the United Nations, putting yourself in harm's way, exposing yourselves to deliberate, sustained machine-gun fire from Croat forces, to which you rightfully and skilfully replied," she said.

The Medak Pocket Operation was said to have been the biggest fire fight Canadian troops were involved in since the Korean War.

Lt. Scott Leblanc, who was 18 years old at the time of the Medak battle, said after coming under attack, his first instinct was to take cover; his next was to do the job for which he was trained.

"You get this perception that you want to kind of bury your body into the floor and obviously, it's not going to protect you," he said. "You want to try to protect yourself as much as possible. But then after that, soon afterwards, you realize that, you know, this is your job."

The battle left 27 Croat forces killed or wounded, while only four Canadians were lightly wounded by shrapnel.

The Governor General said the commendation publicly recognizes "a military deed of a rare, high standard in extremely hazardous circumstances."

Clarkson told the medal ceremony that Serb villagers were being killed even after the PPCLI battle group finally secured a ceasefire.

"Between the time of that negotiation and the withdrawal of Croat forces the next day, your battalion watched helplessly as the Croats engaged in a last frenzy of ethnic cleansing," she said.

Five years after the fighting, the man who commanded the group told members of Parliament about the horrific scene that followed the battle. Lt.-Col. James Calvin said Serbs were found murdered, their houses and livestock were burned, and their wells were poisoned.

Some soldiers at Sunday's medal ceremony said they wished they could have done more. "In the Medak, we got there kind of late, and that really affected me," said Master Cpl. Philip Tobicoe. "That really bothered me."