Saturday, December 28, 2013

Recommended Reading: The Canadians at War 1939/45 (2)


I'm really getting my money's worth out of this used, two-volume set of books from Reader's Digest (my younger son Paul found them for $15). I've read the first volume and 1/4 of the second and have gained a wealth of information about Canada's role in WW2.

     Halfway through the war, Canada had become
     one of the most powerful of the Allied countries.
     The nation so woefully weak in 1939 was now
     making enormous contributions to the eventual
     victory. [flyleaf, Vol. 2]

Dozens of chapters and individual stories paint a vibrant, horrendous (at times), and finally triumphant story that affects all Canadians to this day. Some sentences, paragraphs or stories take me to the very beaches and ports my father visited between December, 1941 and December, 1943, i.e., to his first landing in Scotland, then to his training locales - in part - in Southampton in southern England, to later invasion sites in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and to his return home via Halifax 70 years ago this month.

The pages of each volume contain significant history and personal lessons:

["My father landed troops/supplies on Sept. 3 at Reggio Calabria"]

["Did my father see this particular scene?"]

["Many lessons learned in war"]

["A high percentage of bomber crews never returned"]

["So, Canada's troops went off to Sicily in July, 1943"]

["Men of Combined Operations landed Canadian
troops in various boats and barges"]

["Homework - does the Haida still survive?"]


I recommend these books highly to those wishing to learn more about Canada's role in World War 2.


Photos by GH from Volume 2

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