I’ve just had an eerie experience of life imitating art, or perhaps a better description would be art actually capturing life. The day after I finished reading Joseph Boyden’s remarkable first novel, Three Day Road, about the experiences of a Cree infantry soldier and sniper in World War I, I had occasion to listen to an interview I conducted in Kelowna , BC with Gunner John Marchand, a member of the Okanagan First Nation who served on the front lines of Europe with artillery and infantry for five years during World War II. Mr. Boyden’s horrifying and bloody depictions of trench warfare were still in sharp focus in my mind as Mr. Marchand recalled his own battles in perfect, chilling detail. Sixty-five years have done little to blunt the memory for Mr. Marchand as he recalled crossing a river under heavy fire, taking cover from the shelling, and then months later, watching his friend Burnside, with whom he’d been through the entire war, get killed for the mistake of standing up. “This would be after the new year,” Mr. Marchand recalls. “January [1945] nice sunny day, he stands up in his fox hole, he was about six feet, he stands up like that, 10 or 12 seconds. Sniper got him.” There were other similarities in the two stories – Joseph Boyden’s novel and John Marchand’s real-life memories, including the depiction of equal treatment by non-Aboriginal comrades on the front lines - (“Everybody was on par,” Mr. Marchand told me , “especially when you get into the front lines)- as the racial discrimination continued uninterrupted back home. Three Day Road is an astounding story – beautiful and sad, while Mr. Marchand’s story is so powerful because it’s raw, meticulously told and true. Experiencing them both so close together increased the impact of each individually. Truly amazing. Marchand, 1942 Marchand, October 2009
Since I began working for The Memory Project, a remark often made to me by veterans goes something like this: are you sure you would be interested in my story, I was a Wren, or I was not in the Canadian Army. Some are surprised to learn that our project seeks submissions from veterans of any nationality during the war, provided that they are now living in Canada. I have interviewed many veterans of the British services, as well as one Polish veteran (from the 1st Polish Armoured Division, he provided valuable insight into Operation Totalize and other Canadian actions). As these limited examples suggest, the project has more outreach to do. Certainly, other than Canadians, British veterans have proven the most numerous thus far. As Canada was closely aligned with Britain during the war and so many Canadians served under British command, this should not be surprising. Moreover, many of these veterans are actively involved in the Royal Canadian Legion and other organizations that we have worked with. What is surprising is that we do not hear more often from others. At Toronto Remembrance Day ceremonies, I have noticed the wreath layings for Chinese, Greek, Ukrainian, and other veterans. How may we do a better job of reaching these stories? This post was also prompted in part by my plans to interview a Soviet veteran, with the aid of a translator, whose contribution will be a welcome addition to the project. I have also received a request concerning a former German paratrooper – who saw action against the 1st Division at Ortona, among other places – but no interview has yet been scheduled. I have noted the lack of recrimination towards the Germans voiced by veterans I have interviewed, but I would welcome feedback on what it might mean to profile a veteran of the Axis forces on our site.