My dad was 15 when WWII broke out so he wasn’t old enough to enlist. As the war continued, he would have been of age but he started working in the coal mines of Cape Breton which was considered an essential service. His three older brothers all went overseas and in 1942 his dad (my grandpa) died unexpectedly. There was a younger brother and an older sister so by default he became the patriarch of the family. I had many conversations with him about the impact of the war in a small mining community in Nova Scotia. He was my war historian in many ways. Radio and newspaper were the two essential outlets for getting information about how the allies were doing. I’m sure a lot of the facts got distorted because it was important to keep morale high among Canadians who were fighting the evil “Krauts” and later, the “Japs.” Political correctness wasn’t part of the propaganda as those names for the enemy were often in the headlines.
Air raid sirens and blackouts were a big part of life in my dad’s home town of Dominion during the war. Nearby Sydney was a convoy assembly port. While there was never a land offensive there were frequent attacks by German U-Boats on merchant ships heading to Europe. The threat was real and those blackouts had to be taken seriously.
The coal mines were going full tilt during the war so my dad had a steady job. And I think he was happy to be a couple of miles deep under the ocean mining coal (which was a dangerous job in itself) rather than being on the front lines shooting at the enemy. You went through your day-day routine, dealt with the blackouts, hoped that your town didn’t get attacked and that the war would be over soon so you’d see your brothers again. I can’t imagine the anxiety my grandmother must have dealt with knowing that there was a possibility that all three of her children may never come home. (Fortunately, they all did make it back.)
Music was a big part of getting through difficult times. My dad loves all of the classic war songs and can sing along to every one of them. Not only that, with so many men in Europe the community dances he would go to had a lot less competition for the ladies. He also loves the John McCrae poem, In Flanders Fields.
My dad gained a lot of knowledge about Canada’s War effort and has always had a great respect for those who fought. I’m happy to say he passed that on to me. And so today we remember those who fought valiantly to give us the freedoms we enjoy: those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and those who survived. We must never ever forget that.
Mark Boogieman 