I didn't want Remembrance Day to end without mentioning who I remember on this day.
I
remember my Papa, who is 95 this year. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy and served on several North Atlantic Convoys. His twin brother Oliver, also joined up and was captured and killed in Italy in 1943. He is buried in Salerno. They were born and raised in southern Saskatchewan, near Readlyn. Hazel Lake in Saskatchewan is named after Oliver. I also gave my son the name Oliver as one of his middle names.
My son also has another equally important middle name, Kanshiro. Named after my Grandpa Ohashi, who was born in Japan but came to Canada as a teenager. He was able to avoid internment during WWII by being sent to southern Alberta to farm. Other family members did not have this option and lost their homes and livelihoods in British Columbia when they were sent to internment camps in the interior of BC.
Today I hope everyone took a moment to think of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, those who fought, and those who are still serving. Lest We Forget.
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| Oliver Baker Hazel, Stoker 1st Class 1922-1943 |
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Thank you for sharing your family's history, Jenn. Oliver was so young! Lest we forget.
ReplyDeleteLest we forget also applies to the internment camps. Such a sad part of Canadian history! Never again!
Thanks Marie, my grandpa didn't talk much about the war but when he did, hearing the first hand information of the conditions and how it was, was just incredible.
DeleteNice post Jenn. I think of my Grandpa often, but especially on Remembrance Day. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rain. I am the same. I visited my grandpa yesterday, he is in a home for veterans and has dementia, he doesn't remember the war or us but I think he enjoys the company.
DeleteWhat great photos! Your family certainly saw both sides of the war. My dad was in the Italian campaign too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra. I love seeing old photos, I can't imagine what my grandpa or any of those boys (and so many of them were just boys) was feeling as he boarded to train to head off to war.
DeleteWe often heard of the internment camps in America, never knew they happened in Canada. Such a horrid part of our history. There are many in America (Trump's sheep) that would wish to do the same to Muslims. Even though the country preached "freedom" since 1776, we only started to have true civil rights post WWII
ReplyDeleteHi Adam, yes there were Japanese and German internment/POW camps in Canada. It was a terrible part of history and hopefully the world will see nothing like it again.
DeleteIt is truly amazing (not in a good way) watching Trump, I cringe just looking at him and hearing the misinformed, idiotic, racist, sexist, and megalomaniacal things that he says.
There are so many who gave the ultimate sacrifice and we all must remember that. Sharing your family story is a wonderful way to remember them and pass on their stories to others. Oliver was so young, you always wonder what they would have done in their lives had they lived. It's a sad story but unfortunately lots of families have their own version. No one wins war, we all pay a price.
ReplyDeleteI like your old family photos, it takes you back in time. Makes me wonder what they were thinking when the camera was focused on them.
Thanks Bill. I wonder that all the time about Oliver. I think my grandpa would have been different as well, I think he felt a lot of guilt over the death of his twin since he enlisted only because my grandpa did. The one where he is boarding the train to report for duty is what gets me, he must have been going through so many emotions. I always appreciate your thoughtful comments Bill.
DeleteMy friend's residence in Trout Lake BC was part of a Japanese interment camp during the war - ditto the houses of his neighbours. Out front in his yard is the largest cherry tree you've ever seen, planted by internees. How it survives in that incredibly harsh environment is anyone's guess. It's special and so beautiful, even if the reason for its being is connected to something so darn ugly. It's full of bears once it fruits.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, I like the idea of that beautiful tree coming from something so terrible. Thank you for telling me about it.
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