Col. Aaron Magan joined the American Army in 1991, following his undergraduate ROTC at Western Kentucky University. He went into the Army Corps of Engineers and soon found himself rising through the ranks. He attended a series of schools and courses in the American military, all the while furthering his training. They included: the Ranger […]
Archives: Oral History Project
Hodgins, Richard
Richard Hodgins was born in Toronto in 1919. He grew up in the city’s east end, in the Danforth and Jones neighbourhood. He has been a hockey fan his whole life, and many of his prewar memories centred on the Toronto St. Pats and the Mutual Street Arena, and then the Leafs at the Gardens, […]
Hynds, Jim
Jim Hynds was born in Toronto in 1922. He grew up in the city’s west end, in the Bloor-Bathurst neighbourhood that he calls “Hogtown”. Jim attended Harbord Collegiate and he recalls that life during the Great Depression – at least for his family – was not that rough as his father was able to keep […]
Hayes, Clayton
Clayton Hayes was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and he grew up in the Prairies, first in Saskatchewan and later in Brandon, Manitoba. The Depression was a difficult time for the family; his father’s business went bankrupt, and the family moved to improve their prospects. When the war came, Clayton’s older brother joined the navy, […]
MacInnis, Lyman
Lyman MacInnis was born on September 27, 1938 in a small community called St. Peters Bay in Prince Edward Island. He had two brothers that fought and survived WWII. Lyman is currently 80 years old and living in Toronto. He was interviewed for this project by Liam MacInnis, his grandson. […]
Tuns, Adrien
Adrien Tuns was born on June 11, 1944, in Holland. He has 3 siblings, including 2 older sibling that were born in the Netherlands, and a younger brother who was born in Canada. At age 8 his family emigrated from a little island village in the Netherlands to Canada. His older sister Ann was born in Holland, […]
Zaidman, Mina
Mina Zaidman was born in Miedzyrzec, Poland, in 1934. She lived in a small house with her parents and younger brother. She was only 4 ½ when the war broke out and does not really remember much about life before that. Before Germany invaded Miedzyrzec, the Russian army occupied the city as part of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact settlement. When the […]
Speare, Mary
Mary Speare was born in Budapest, Hungary but has lived in Canada for over 60 years. She went through WW2 and experienced Nazis persecution against Jews. Her father was taken to a labour camp early on, as the family’s fortunes began to unravel. Mary was fortunate to be spared deportation to Auschwitz as her mother put […]
Gasper, Lidia
Lidia Gasper was born in 1928 in Szekszard, Hungary. Before the Holocaust, she had a good life. She had other Jewish friends in her town, her father had a mill that gave them water, and she had a bat mitzvah. She had to go to another town to go to school, and this is where […]
Moore, Dalton
Dalton Moore was born August 2, 1931 in the hamlet of Horning’s Mills; when he was four the family moved to Toronto – right in the midst of the Great Depression. Dalton’s early years happened against that economic backdrop, as well as the subsequent war. When World War Two came along, Dalton’s older brothers went […]
Bensimon, Marian
Marian Bensimon was born in Czechoslovakia; she was 6 years old in 1942 when her family moved to Budapest, Hungary. Marian’s parents sensed the danger on the way; her father was taken to a labour camp and the family placed in a ghetto, so Marian’s mother arranged to have her daughters taken to a convent, where they were hidden […]
Lamantia, Larry
Larry Lamantia was born in Toronto, growing up in the city’s east end in the Pape-Danforth neighbourhood. His father ran a grocery market, and Larry grew up in the care of his grandmother, as his mother died when Larry was only five. The family experienced some of the anti-Italian backlash that spread through Toronto at […]
McIlroy, Frances
Frances McIlroy was born on June 16th, 1917, in Madoc Ontario. She is the eldest of one brother and one sister. She went to school in Madoc; later on she went to Kingston General Hospital to train as a nurse. From there she became an army nurse. Frances went overseas in June 1944, right as […]
Speedie, Bob
Bob Speedie was born in 1926 in Crieff, Scotland. Bob’s father was a building contractor and due to his job, Bob’s family moved to London, England on May 2, 1926; he was 3 months old at that time. He grew up in London as a Cockney and attended the London Public School. Bob was in […]
Kerr, Helen
Born in Saskatchewan on August 2, 1919, Helen Louise Kerr was a former nurse who served in WWII. She is currently 99, and lives in Toronto. As a child, she lived on a farm with her family members, including six siblings, four of whom would serve in the war. Her mother was a teacher and […]
Protected: Robinson, Nancy
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Smith, Gordon B.
Gordon B. Smith was born in the east end of Toronto, not far from the Don Jail. He lost one brother when he was growing up in that neighbourhood, to a household accident. Gord attended Eastern Commerce, but he didn’t graduate, instead entering the work force. When the war came, Gord’s remaining older brother enlisted […]
Bow, John
John Bow served in the Royal Canadian Service Corps during the Second World War. Born in Windsor in 1926, he turned 18 in 1944, as the war was getting into its final year, and it turned out that he was unable to go overseas. John had two older siblings, an older brother who joined […]
Harris, Garfield
Garfield Harris was born in Newfoundland in 1923, at a time when Newfoundland was still a British colony. But just as the Great War did so much damage to a generation of young Newfoundlanders, it also hurt Garfield’s father, who’d run a prosperous fishing fleet before the war. He made the decision to head west […]
Stohn, Suzie
Suzie Stohn was born in Toronto, growing up in the “Village”, not too far from Russell Hill Road in the city’s north end. Her family was well off, fortunately insulated from the effects of the Depression. Suzie lived a good life, enjoying school at BSS and in a boarding school in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. From […]
Stohn, John
John Stohn originally came from the U.S., but he moved to Canada at a young age, when his father’s work led the family to Granby, Quebec. The family did well there, and they were largely insulated from the devastating impacts of the Great Depression. John remembers his youth with some fondness, and that it prepared […]
Thu Nguyen
Thu Nguyen grew up in Vietnam, growing up as a series of wars raged around him and his family. He recalls that he was not too impacted by the war in the early years, but with 1968 and the Tet Offensive, he and his family were on the move, staying ahead of the NVA and […]
Protected: Wong, Hank
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Kien Le
Kien Le spent his early life in Vietnam, growing up as the American phase of the war was coming to an end. He recalls that he was not too impacted by the war in the early years, but since his father was in the navy, he and his family were on the move as the […]
Iler, Harley
Harley Iler grew up in Essex County, in southwest Ontario. Harley spent his formative years on a farm, where he remembers his parents struggling through the difficult years of the Great Depression. Harley attended school in a one-room schoolhouse, and at home he tinkered with his HAM radio, developing the passion and technical know-how that […]
Williams, Don
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 […]
Peon, Bill
Bill Peon served in the Canadian army during the Second World War. He was born in Toronto, where he grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression. With the coming of the war, he enlisted, and with basic training he was assigned to the Service Corps, designated as a truck driver. He spent additional […]
Jones, Robert “Bud”
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 […]
Woznicki, Marvin
Marvin Woznicki was born in Silesia, Poland in 1925. Marvin grew up there in a house with his parents, his brother and his two sisters. Marvin attended grade school in Poland up to Grade 4. He had a happy childhood in his early years growing up, until all of that changed. Marvin was only fourteen […]
Protected: Latowski, Victor
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.