Jacques Vezina was born October 22, 1925 in the St-Henri district of Montreal. He grew up in that mixed neighbourhood in a large family, with four sisters and two older brothers. Jacques’ father was a bank manager – a quiet man as Jacques recalls. When the war came Jacques’ two older brothers enlisted in the early going, and they were in fact overseas when Jacques went into the army himself. Training took place in St-Jerome and Farnham, and from there he headed overseas early in 1945, and additional training took place in England. Jacques and his unit were getting ready to cross the Channel when the news broke that the war was over. While in England Jacques had the chance to visit London, and he and other men would help out on local farms while they waited to cross over to the continent. Jacques was asked after VE Day if he wanted to go fight Japan, and he agreed to do so, which enabled him to get back to Canada quickly – even before his brothers. As it turned out the war in Japan ended a few months later, so Jacques was lucky to avoid the war on both sides of the world. He was discharged and took work at Hydro Quebec for a few months before taking a job at Bell, where he built a career over the next 40 years. He also married Joyce, and the two raised their family and found their place in postwar Canada. Jacques Vezina was interviewed by Scott Masters at his home in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec in March 2026.
