Raymond Goulet was born January 14, 1923 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. His parents were French-Canadian, so Ray and his brothers grew up speaking French and English, and attending Catholic schools, all against the backdrop of the Great Depression. When the war came, Ray chose to volunteer, while his two brothers were drafted. He went through basic […]
Archives: Oral History Project
Peter, Avraham Haim
Avraham Peter grew up in the city of Lodz, Poland, where he was born August 12, 1926. His parents had their own factory/business and the family was living a good, observant life, and the young Abe attended a Jewish school, and was raised in part by his grandparents. Anti-Semitism was a reality in 1930s Lodz […]
Miller, Harry
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 […]
Smart, Maxwell
Max Smart was born June 1, 1930 in Buczacz, Poland (now Ukraine). He and his family were living a good life in the 1930s, and Max remembers well the idyllic nature of life in that time. Even as events around Poland began to move towards war, Max and his family felt safe, unaware of what […]
Pfeifer, Howard
Howard Pfeifer was born September 22, 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, so as a teenger he worked many jobs, delivering newspapers, pumping gas, and so on. When the war came, a cousin of Howard’s told him about the merchant marine; Howard liked what he heard, […]
Card, Albert
Albert Card was born March 12, 1924 in Hastings, England. He grew up there in a big family, and Bert remembers they did well even during the Depression, because of his father’s food allotment. Life in Hastings was good: Bert grew up on the beach, going to school, playing sports – all the normal things. […]
Protected: Buchanan, Peg
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Anderson, Clarence “Bud”
Bud Anderson hails from northern California, where he was born January 13, 1922 and grew up on a farm in the little town of Auburn, relatively insulated from the effects of the Great Depression. Always interested in flying, Bud attended junior college and took on a job at the Sacramento Air Depot, and he was […]
Adam, Wallace
Wally Adam was born in Winnipeg during the Second World War, where his father was serving in the Army Pay Corps. He grew up there, and decided to join the RCAF Reserves in his own right when he was in high school. After university, Wally enlisted in the RCAF, serving during the Cold War years. […]
Halvorsen, Gail
Gail Halvorsen was born October 10, 1920 in northern Utah, where he grew up on a sugar beet farm, enjoying the great outdoor life the state had to offer. Gail worked hard during those years, and he decided to look into a civilian pilot training program that he had heard about. When the Pearl Harbour […]
Glenn, Roland
Roland Glenn was born June 5, 1924; he grew up in small town Pennsylvania, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He recalls a good childhood, where his family raised him with love and positive energy, in a time when that was in short supply for many Americans. His father and grandfather had instilled him […]
Sayers, Pete
Pete Sayers was born January 9, 1933; he grew up on Canada’s west coast, in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Pete remembers growing up in a time of war, watching the soldiers practice live fire exercises, and he also remembers the internment of Japanese-Canadian neighbours as wartime paranoia grew. Blackouts and the reality of total war were […]
Protected: Campsall, Bill
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Fraser, Bill
Bill Fraser hails from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, where he was born in 1940. His father and uncles served in the Second World War, and Bill would follow them into the service, albeit in a very different time. Bill was part of the Canadian Forces during the Cold War; he joined the RCAF out of […]
Protected: Parfitt, Bill
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Protected: Gingras, Bernard
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Watson, Jack
Jack Watson was born March 9, 1924 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother died when Jack was only 10, and family circumstances saw Jack and his siblings put into an orphanage. The times were difficult for the family, but Jack worked hard there and at the monastery school he attended during most of his teen years, […]
Protected: Gidilevich, Bud
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Beardshaw, George
George Herbert Beardshaw was born September 14, 1923 in Thorne, Yorkshire, England. He grew up in Garden Boys City, one of the Barnardo orphanages. He remembers that one day a man came into class, asking who wanted to go to Canada: George raised his hand, and in 1938 was off on the grand journey. He […]