Capturing veterans’ stories from two wars

Young, the president of Friends of Veterans Canada, is on a mission to videotape as many stories as possible from Canadian veterans of the Second World War and Korean War.

Young says Canada is losing hundreds of these veterans daily, and with them go stories that should be passed on to children and grandchildren.

So far on the eastern half of his journey, Young has accumulated more than 67 hours of video stories, including eight interviews in Bear River and Digby.

He arrived in Digby on Aug 28 in his donated RV, and towing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He hoped to meet veterans during the Wharf Rat Rally and hear their stories, but he had better luck at the local Legion branch.

Digby was Young’s last stop in Nova Scotia. He left Sept. 2 on the ‘Princess of Acadia’ for Saint John, N.B.

In an interview, Young noted that many veterans are more than willing to tell their stories, but there are still a few who don’t want to talk about their service. He thinks believes the veterans are beginning to realize their own mortality and are more willing now to talk about their experiences.

A big friendly man, he tells people that at age 47 this project has been a life-changing experience, and the perks are that he gets to hear lots of good stories, drink gallons of coffee, have a few beers, and gets a chance to ride his motorcycle.

He started in Kitchener, Ont., in April. His eastern leg took him to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, but prohibitive ferry costs kept him from visiting Newfoundland.

In Nova Scotia, he visited New Glasgow, Westville, Truro, Dartmouth, Halifax and Bridgewater before arriving here, and plans to finish the eastern half of his coast-to-coast rally in Ottawa in late September.

While in Ottawa he hopes to arrange for the Second War and Korean War veterans to visit the Afghanistan veterans who are in the Perley Rideau Veterans Hospital.

Next summer, Young plans to head out on the western half of his tour, which will take him all the way to the West Coast.

The first of the veterans’ stories are scheduled to go online Dec. 4, which is also his son Randy’s 21st birthday, and the same day his son enters officer training school to begin a career in the army. .

Friends of Veterans Canada is sponsoring a school video contest, the national Video-a-Veteran contest. When veterans visit schools, the organization hopes to get the students to do a video of their stories that will then be added to the online library. The veteran on the winning video will receive a trip to Holland, and there will be prizes for the winning school as well.

Friends of Veterans Canada are also happy to collect any written stories that may have been passed down through families of veterans who have passed away.

Friends of Veterans Canada is a registered charity, www.friendsofveterans.ca and Randy Young can be contacted by email at randy@friendsofveterans.ca

Sue White is public relations officer for Royal Canadian Legion Zone 11