Kenneth Chatto was born March 19, 1928 in Rockland, Maine. Growing up in that coastal area, he did all the normal things for a boy of that time, including fishing and sailing in Penobscot Bay; he also hiked and joined the Sea Scouts. During WWII Kenneth’s dad was an air warden who enforced blackout restrictions. […]
Frank Gavin was born July 21, 1932 in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood. His parents both came from Ireland, and Frank’s father had been part of the 1916 Uprising against the British; during World War two they both worked in the munitions factories that were all over Toronto – their new homeland. Frank grew up alongside five […]
Roland Lalonde was born July 8, 1923 in Ottawa, into a large family of eight boys and three girls. He did his schooling in Ottawa, finishing after Grade 10. Roly grew up during the difficult days of the Great Depression, but he recalls that his father always had work, and that the family made ends […]
Gerrard “Gerry” Becigneul was born February 1, 1932 in Sandwich (now Windsor), Canada during the Great Depression. His mother was born in France, while his father was born in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. Gerry had three brothers and five sisters, and several saw survive in World War Two. He attended a bilingual high school which he despised; […]
Charlie Rose was born February 28, 1926 in the Springfield Ozarks area of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the oldest of eight children. His father was an American veteran of the Great War who served in France, and once back in K.C. he was a streetcar driver. Charlie attended a rural school when he was […]
Ronald Zabrok was born February 16, 1925 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He grew up there during the tough times of the Great Depression, and he remembers working all through his teenage years, selling magazines and later working at the Cudahy Packing Plant – he in fact did not graduate high school as supporting the family […]
Gordon Bennett was born August 1, 1932 in Toronto. He grew during the war years, when he attended Riverdale Collegiate. Gordon chose to join the army himself when he turned 18, in 1951. The Korean War was underway at this time, and Gordon went overseas in early 1952, when he was 19. He was assigned […]
Joseph-Albert Ganin was born January 20, 1931 in Montreal. He was raised by his grandmother in Ste-Cecile-de-Masham, a small town where several of his uncles also lived. School ended early for Joseph – he did not in fact attend past Grade 3. The family relocated to Ottawa, and Joseph grew up there during the war […]
Randi Gage was born on April 21, 1950 in southeastern Michigan, and she presently lives in Manitoba. She is a Vietnam era veteran who joined the US Army when she was 17, the daughter of a Korean War veteran. Serving during a turbulent period in American history, Gage represents a generation of veterans shaped by […]
Tom Kirk was born November 10, 1928 in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up an avid musician, and by the end of high school he was playing gigs 3-4 nights a week – time he should have been studying according to his father. So the decision was made to send him to the Virginia Military Institute […]
Romeo Daley was born May 21, 1932 in Capreol, Ontario. When he was quite young the family relocated, first to Timmins and then to South Porcupine, where Romeo spent his early years on a farm. His father was a Second World War veteran who was away from 1939-45, leaving his wife to take care of […]
Nancy Jurgevich was born into a military family on July 20, 1940 in Stoystown, Pennsylvania. Her father was in the navy and had served on the USS Columbia during the Second World War, and an uncle fought in the Korean War. In high school she wanted to travel, but there was no money and she […]
Gerry Teldon was born August 28, 1924 in the Bronx, New York. The family moved to Cedarhurst, Long Island when Gerry was quite young, and that is where he grew up. His father, a Great War veteran, ran a successful dressmaking business, so even in the dark days of the Depression the family was doing […]
Ralph Smith was born October 12, 1930 in Perdue, Saskatchewan. His father had emigrated from Shropshire, England in 1910, and he farmed that quarter section of land he had purchased in Saskatchewan; Ralph’s mother was from Brampton, Ontario, and she had moved out west originally as Ralph’s father’s housekeeper. Ralph grew up there as one […]
Theodore Britton was born October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. He spent his early years there, growing up against the backdrop of Jim Crow and the early years of the Great Depression. His father decided to take part in the Great Migration though, and Theodore’s teenage years were spent in New York City, […]
James Thistle was born February 22, 1933 in Mulmer Township, in Dufferin County, Ontario. He grew up against the backdrop of the Second World War and decided to join the Canadian Forces out of high school. He reported to Petawawa for his basic training, followed by additional training in Fort Wainwright, Alberta. By this time […]
Oliver Brooks was born December 23, 1930 in Sundridge, Ontario. He grew up in that northern Ontario town against the backdrop of the Second World War, and once he had completed school and turned 18 he decided to join the forces. Oliver wanted to be a paratrooper, so he was off to basic training at […]
Doug Raynbird was born September 12, 1932 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up there against the backdrop of the Second World War – without his father, who went overseas in 1939 as part of the first contingent. Doug’s father would be away the whole six years, stationed in England and Italy, and Doug and his […]
Chris Snider was born March 19, 1932 in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. His parents were Canadian but were living in the U.S. at the time, and as the 1930s unfolded they moved a few more times, eventually landing in Oakville, Ontario. The realities of the Great Depression had kept them on the move, as Chris’s father looked […]
Bob Harbula was born January 2, 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a working class area there, and he expected to work on the railroad, as had his father and grandfather. As a young boy he saw the Second World War unfold all around him, and he was inspired by the stories of […]
Philip Daniel was born July 24, 1925 in Toronto. He grew up on a farm in the Leaside neighbourhood, where his father – a Great War veteran – delivered dairy goods. Philip’s father was part of the Canadian Engineers in the First World War, working with horses and keeping the supplies moving; his mother was […]
Don Martin was born June 9, 1933 in Toronto, and he attended Danforth Tech in the city’s east end. Don grew up during the war years, and two of his older brothers served in the Second World War. That includes Jack, who stormed Juno Beach on D-day, and whose story also appears in the Crestwood […]
Cliff Davies was born September 3, 1927 in Portsmouth, England. By a strange twist of fate his 12th birthday happened to be the day that WW2 was declared in Great Britain, and it was a birthday that came to be characterized by gas masks and evacuation. Cliff’s father worked at the Portsmouth shipyards, as did […]
Dallas Willett was born August 3, 1930 in Rouge Hill, Ontario. Third child in a family of 12, he grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, working the family farm and delivering newspapers when he wasn’t at school or playing soccer or hockey. They would also go into the nearby town of […]
Mary Cameron-Kelly was born January 5, 1962 in North Sydney, in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Her father had served in the CAF during the Korean War, and she made the decision to enlist herself after she completed high school. Her air force career began when she became an airframe technician, and at this time Mary […]
Earl Watson was born April 15, 1930 in Brantford, Ontario. The family relocated to Owen Sound during the Depression, as Earl’s father found work as a welder. Earl’s childhood was typical; he went to school and more importantly enjoyed his time with friends, playing baseball and whatever else. Earl was too young for the Second […]
Narce Caliva was born on September 7, 1929 in Salinas, California. His father originally came from the Philippines and had emigrated to California via Hawaii. In California he met his soon-to-be wife, daughter in a family who had come to the United States from Yugoslavia. Narce grew up in California against the backdrop of World […]
Harry Miller was born July 2, 1928 in Columbus, Ohio. He would serve in the American Army in the Second World War, when he was not yet 18 years old. Harry’s mother died when he was only 3, so it would be his father and sister who guided the family through the difficult days of […]
Don Williams served in the Canadian army during the Korean War. He grew up against the backdrop of the Second World War, experiencing the ups-and-downs alongside fellow Canadians during that changing time. As the Cold War escalated, he enlisted for his own war, and with basic training he was assigned to the PPCLI, designated as […]
Robert “Bud” Jones was born in the St-Henri District of Montreal, and educated in the school districts of St. Henri, Montreal and Verdun , Quebec. Bud Jones is a decorated career soldier of 30 yrs, and a veteran of WWII who also served in Korea. He grew up in Depression-era Montreal, where Bud remembers his […]