The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War Digital Archive has the very real potential to play a vital role in the debates surrounding the 1939-45 conflict. Perhaps the most highly charged of these surrounds the Allied bombing campaign – even the most lackadaisical search search on the subject will turn up references to the “Death by Moonlight” episode of the CBC docudrama The Valour and the Horror and the recent controversy surrounding the War Museum exhibit on the subject, to name only Canadian examples – a campaign in which Canadian personnel played a disproportionate role. By interviewing Second World War veterans individually, The Memory Project allows the actual participants in these events to share their thoughts on this issue in a direct and easy-to-consult format. And they have not hesitated to do so. All of the Bomber Command flight crew members whom I have spoken with raised the topic of the morality of bombing and how they are perceived by the wider public on their own initiative. This group so far consists of only four people among the over 100 Second World War veterans I have interviewed since joining the project, but that seemingly tiny number belies the eloquence of those interviewees, and my experiences were powerful enough to prompt this writing. Of course, those interviews, which averaged a little less than an hour in length, were edited down to the 6-9 minute clip which appears on our digital archive. Admittedly, these edits reflect my biases, but in each case the passion brought out by the individual comments on the bombing debate insured that the clips concerning that subject were selected, regardless of my personal opinion about what was stated. This is just another example of the many ways that The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War helps grant veterans the opportunity to share their perspectives on the issues that matter to them.
Recently in a workshop on the subject of oral history and digital story-telling, Dr. Stephen High of Concordia University, spoke of the practice of oral history. In some of his projects, Dr. High’s team interview one subject over several hours, over the span of several years. Dr. High made it clear that sometimes it takes a long time for a interviewee to open up and reveal the whole depth of their memories and experiences. The reality with The Memory Project : Stories of the Second World War is quite different,. Firstly, the interview subjects are in their mid to late eighties. In many cases, we are too late, but in some, we simply do not have that many years left to interview them. Further, the parameters of the project sometimes only give us 20 – 30 minutes to interview a veteran. Upon reflection, this fact can be quite overwhelming . How does one satisfactory capture the essence of one man or woman’s years in the service, years that often are loaded with horrifying memories into the span of 25 minutes. Is this even possible? However, I have found that once the interviewee has had a chance to warm up, allowing him or her space to consider what they would most like to communicate about their time in the service generally evokes a pretty amazing story in a short period of time. The sense of urgency about documenting the service of world war two veterans in Canada is generally shared by the world war two veteran themselves. Even though at times, their stories and memories have not been shared or discussed for over sixty years, sometimes very details accounts can be recalled quickly and without too much prompting.
As an interviewer, not only have I heard stories of battle and anguish, but also stories of love. Many veterans have recounted stories of falling in love during the war, and marrying their sweethearts—they tell me of celebrating 60 plus years together. These stories appeal to the romantic in me. One woman told me how she bartered cigarettes for her wedding flowers in Holland, and another how she met her husband when they were both on a ship going overseas. Another told me of returning home after the war where he was greeted by his parents and sister, who were all standing with another woman whom he did not know. His father introduced them, referring to her as the returning soldier’s future wife—they were married two years later. Another love story that stayed with me was one that happened after the war—many, many years after. Last week, we were in Edmonton, Alberta, and I interviewed two veterans, a man named Mr. Bud Dash, who worked as an Airframe Technician in England for the RCAF, and a woman, Mrs. Barbara More, who worked as a plotter in the fighter operations room for the RAF in Scotland. They did not meet during the war, but 60 years later while living in the same retirement residence. They had returned from the war, and having both had long and happy marriages, found each other only after both spouses had passed away. They met often at the different activities hosted by the residence, and danced together at the dances. She told me of going on a cruise together, where he asked her to marry him. She showed me her engagement ring, glowing like a young woman. I watched them leave together, holding hands—in love again.