Thank you for documenting what your grandfather would share about his and others' experiences fighting in WW II. The number of living WW II veterans is quickly shrinking and it would be worthwhile for each of them, if willing, to share their stories.
I highly recommend "Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler," by Bruce Henderson, for those interested in learning more about Jewish soldiers who fought for the Allies.
1
Such important reflections should be shared more often, especially insomuch as so very few WWII veterans are now alive to share their remembrances. From a very personal point of view, the struggles of human beings, who refused to lose their freedom to be themselves, regardless of their individual faiths, their perceptions, and their histories, are significant in the age of Donald Trump, as this nation's president. We are living through what I hope is a brief era, wherein decency is obliterated by weaponized fear from a despot, who knows very little, lies with great frequency, and most certainly has never examined his own short-sighted lack of knowledge.
5
These important reflections should be shared more often, but not if they are going to sullied by gratuitous slurs on Donald Trump.
I hope Mr. Canter's diary is gifted to a museum someday. Personally I'd recommend the WWII museum in New Orleans.
1
Thank you for sharing these stories. Indeed this was The Greatest Generation who left as young boys to fight the Nazis and Japanese and returned as men. Americans and Canadians alike have forgotten the sacrifices these men made.
3
God bless them all. What a generation, especially considering what they fought for and what is happening to the democracies they defended in the sorry state of the present. A pebble should be left on all their headstones.
5
Also very moving is the story of the Jewish refugees who quickly turned around and joined the Allied forces to fight in Europe--often having to go to great lengths involving extensive vetting because of their enemy alien status. My dad was one of those (US Army Intelligence). I got hold of the film *About Face* and showed it to him when he was still alive, and it managed to break through his dementia somewhat.
6
@John
My father escaped Poland through Lithuania and then, with a visa from Chine Sugihara, to Japan and on to Canada to sign up for the British army. He was trained at a camp in Ontario with 800 Americans and 300 Canadians. He was in Normandy and injured at La Falaise( the Gap). Very little information about those who trained in Ontario..a year before the US entered the war.
2
Horrific and heroic describe most wars and those serving. Every person I have ever known has come back changed and usually not for the better. When will we ever learn.
2
Hey, my 98-year-old dad is a Jewish Canadian WWII veteran!
10
Mr. Heller,
Why not check with the Canadian defense ministry about the official service record of your grandfather?
While I respect your grandfather's wishes, his service is now part of history, and would be available to researchers who are strangers to him, if not now, certainly in the future.
Wouldn't he rather have his story recounted by someone who knew him, someone close to him?
Just a thought...
6
"Glory Days, well, they'll pass you by.
Glory Days, in the wink of a young girl's eye...
Glory Days. Glory Days."
The war years are never good years, Mr. Heller. Your grandfather learned that as a young man. He doesn't want to relive his days as a warrior, separating fact from fiction, reality from the gentle memories re-created over time.
Would you accept some advice from a woman, and a non-Jew at that? Let your grandfather be. He's lived a long life. Don't focus on those years that make you, as his young grandson "proud". Listen to what he is telling you about letting those years, and those deeds of great glory long, long ago.. simply go. You helped research some of his memories and find details about long-lost frients. Enough.
Your grandfather's legacy is not in the war years, or the faded memories there. You listed his descendants, the four children who begat nine grandchildren, who begat Xx great-grandchildren... Life is legacy, not the death smells of the war years. #NeverForget
(If you think real war is anything like the periodic "mowng of the lawn" againar defenseless civilians, you haven't been close enough to smell, taste or see real war. Your grandfather knows it is wrong to idolize his war service; listen and learn from him before it is too late.)
18
And, as a matter of fact, if we could create an environment in which more war veterans could talk about their war experiences, it might be helpful to the veteran and his or her family, and society as well. This story is a tribute to those who served and not about whether war is glorious.
1
And some advice I would provide to you...the writer clearly loves his grandfather and has curiosity about a time in his life in which he may have undergone some traumatic experiences, for a child or grandchild to focus interest on. Regardless of his war experiences, they are a part of who he became and an opportunity to know him better...not to glorify war!!!!
2
Thank you for this article.
My father, S.J. Frolick, was born in Montreal in 1922. He moved with his family to The Bronx in 1937, though he was always very proud of his Canadian roots. Sy enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in 1942, becoming the youngest commissioned officer in the U.S.C.G. at that time. He participated in four D-Day landings in the South Pacific, serving as a boat wave commander, transporting Marines to the beaches under enemy fire. For one such event he was awarded the Bronze Star. As in the case of other veterans referred to in the article, my father didn’t speak of his war experience until he was in his 80s, when he wrote his memoirs. It was only through reading those, that I learned of many details of his time at war–including the night his ship, the S.S. Cavalier, was hit by torpedo. After the War, Sy became a pioneer in television advertising, retiring in 1984 after a long and distinguished career. One of the photographs in his book shows a long line of American soldiers standing solemnly above an open mass grave of fallen Marines. My father didn’t want to include the picture, which he thought too morbid, but I believed it important for future generations to see the real consequences of war. He, and the others you write about, were heroes that didn’t think of themselves as such. So important to remember and honor what they, little more than kids themselves, did in service to country and the free world.
19
@Stuart Frolick My father, Robert Raum, was a good friend of your father's. In fact, I bought myself a pair of Keds the other day and thought of Sy. I remember you and your family fondly. Thank you for sharing this history, and his courage, when, as you say, he was little more than a kid himself.
7
@Michelle
Hi Michelle, what a great and welcome surprise
to see your comment here. I remember you and your family very well. Would love to touch base with you...I'm at CalArts in Valencia, CA.
2
I'm thinking of my late friend Nathan "Bud" Glickman, a Silver Star veteran, who flew his 30 missions over Germany as a B-24 bombardier in flack so thick, "We used to say 'you can get out and walk on it!'"
Wounded, he could have gone home early, but he asked to be returned to service nonetheless because he didn't want his fellow flyers to feel he'd let them down.
Bud wrote a ripping good book about his 30 missions called "Hell Under Heaven," but no one may ever read it, everyone from the state historical society to the Smithsonian turned it down because "people aren't so interested in WWII anymore," among other rationales. I'm just really glad I knew one of the guys who was out there saving democracy when there were just a dozen left on the whole planet.
13
Beautiful.
2
An excellent article about courage and persistence. Perhaps instead of making comic book movies we could write historical, true ones about men like this.
7
I enjoyed the article. My dad was a (ground) crew chief in the 100th Bomb Group in WW2, B17's flying out of Thorpe Abbots. Because of this, I've done some research over the years. The 100th was known as the "Bloody 100th" because of the massive flyer losses, especially before long range fighters like the P51 came along to accompany the bombers in 1944.
No less kudos for our great allies, but American flyers also suffered grievous losses in WW2 contrary to the impression left earlier in the article re: daytime vs. nighttime bombing.
9
Author and readers might be interested in the memoir of Dan Porat, who was born in a Polish shtetl, escaped Nazi Vienna for Palestine, and served in the Royal Engineers during WWII in North Africa and Italy.
6
What a great story. Having such details of individual lives helps to keep the story of a momentous time in history alive for those of us who were not born yet. Remembering is so important.
One of my Canadian uncles was a gunner for the RAF, too impatient to wait for Canadians to go to war. He was honored in his late 90's for his service there, and was able to make the trip to England.
Another was a paratrooper, shot down by friendly fire in Sicily. The favorite brother, my generation has 4 Ralphs in his honor.
A third brother joined the U.S.Navy the day after Pearl Harbor. He and his fiancee sped up their wedding date to Dec. 7 so he could go fight in the Pacific.
My dad quit school to join the U.S. Army Air Corps (no Air Force yet) and was sent to radar school for a year. He liked to say that the guys that were weeded out of the program were sent to Harvard for something else, but he stayed with it. He never made it overseas, although for a while he was stationed in Eastern Canada, and given overseas pay to work in the country where he grew up.
There were other brothers, but they were too old or too young or too heavily involved in necessary agriculture to be called up. They lived in Canada but were born to American parents, so all had dual citizenship. The ones who'd been born first in the U.S. became Canadians, while those born in Canada returned to the U.S. like my dad.
All are gone now, but it's so important to remember.
12
I am grateful for the sacrifices of those that served, both those that returned from the war and those that did not. It is scary to see how shamelessly people avoid duty today. Hopefully real threats will be recognized before our freedom is lost. Stories like this remind us that "Freedom is not free".
6
Lovely writing, interesting article, compelling.
7
I'm glad to see that the Times had an epiphany following the incident of publishing a tacky cartoon of the dog with Netanyahu's face wearing a Star of David collar leading a blind Donald Trump wearing a yarmulke. There are plenty of uplifting Jewish stories that have yet to be to be told. Also on the plus side is that Israel is hosting Eurovision and that Iran finally dropped its ban against competing with Israeli athletes in judo.
9
Thank you so much for engraving this testimony of life and loss.
8
I am probably biased since I have known Aron since birth and know his grandfather but this is a wonderful article. My grandfather (who survived) was also in the RCAF and similarly never talked about his years in the war. Glad that the article is trending so well
25
Thank-you for remembering my Father Somer James. His bravery and participation in WWII changed and formed his life in the most dramatic ways.
He has been honored and commemorated at the Canadian War Museum - WWII exhibit - Merchant Navy - for his actions in Naples.
Somer met my Mother Jean in London during the war, and was able to bring her to Canada in 1945.
The were married for 59 years, had 4 children and 8 grandchildren.
Somer left Toronto in 1938, under age, and went to Montreal to get on the first ship he could to help in a way he could accept. The Canadian merchant navy did not exist yet, so he joined various ships that were participating in the supply of Europe.
Somer was a supporter of the State of Israel, and the Jewish Community in Winnipeg. He would be thrilled to have been remembered by his 'colleagues' of the day.
We James' are always reminded of his gift of bravery and courage. We are very proud of his service to his Country.
41
@KEITH JAMES
Hi Keith. My grandfather speaks so fondly of your dad and it would be great to be in touch directly. Please reach out on Facebook.
2
I am grateful for the sacrifice that my fellow Canadians, and everyone, made against the horrors of Nazi Germany. I look on at my own son and daughter, who are the same age as the youngsters who went to war in Europe. Seeing my children living in tranquility and prosperity strengthens my resolve to work for peace for everyone.
19
My father, Ralph Oren, is in the photo of the four aviators (second from the right). He was born in Canada and was still a Canadian citizen when war broke out, so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force even though he had lived in Brooklyn since the age of 5. He trained in Belleville, Ontario, where I assume this picture was taken.
My dad trained as a navigator bombardier and ended up a pathfinder working the radar on the lead plane of bomber squadrons over Germany. He transferred to the U.S. Air Corps, Eighth Air Force, in 1942, where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf clusters, among other medals.
My father is also Jewish veteran and rarely talked about his experience flying aboard the B-17s. On his Flying Fortresses, a radar dome took the place of the belly gun, so he was also vulnerable to enemy planes coming from below.
My dad is still alive and well at 97.
63
@nero
Wow! That is amazing! Could I contact you directly? I would love to hear about your dad. Maybe we can arrange a reunion after all these years? That would be something.
7
@Aron Heller
Delighted to contact. Hunt me down on Facebook.
-- Bruce
2
Your grandfather is a witness to the truth that war is horrific. It is humanity at our collective worst.
8
Yes, as are the causes of it.
2
The premise of this (admittedly fascinating) article is very hard to understand. So I'll just remark that it'd be great if the NYT published more stories that shed light on Canada's social history.
12
Wilfred Canter. “He had quite a life.” Yes. Thank you for sharing it with us.
12
The uncle of one my college roommates was a Canadian paratrooper who jumped on D-Day. He had the misfortune to miss his drop zone and land in the middle of a German camp. He believed the only reason that he wasn't instantly killed was that the Germans were as surprised as he was by suddenly finding him among them and just took him prisoner.
And although they weren't Canadian, it's always worth noting the Jewish Brigade of the British army consisting of Jews then living in Palestine who. though demanding that the British fulfill the promise made by the Balfour Declaration of Jewish state there, fought for them. And this was despite that during the inter war period, the British considered those Palestinian Jews demanding such a state to be terrorists. Many of those who served, including a cousin of my father, used the military skills they had learned to form the core of the Israeli army when the country was established.
20
I am sure Congresswoman Omar will offer her "thoughts and prayers" for their sacrifice, out?
7
@Carlos R. Rivera
Hitler was no friend of the Muslims, as he considered Arabs to be the same "inferior stock" as the Jews. Ms Omar's complain is not with the Jews but with what some see as the American's "pampering" of the Israeli government and some of their policies. Perhaps if you read what she has to say, instead of listening to the GOP, you'd understand that she is not our enemy.
15
And she knows everything! Btw what are her complaints about the politics of her ancient homeland where she’s a celebrity, as well. Maybe, she’ll end up with a reality tv show.
3
@Lady Anne Sorry, Lady Anne, you have it wrong. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem met with Hitler in 1941 with the express purpose of engaging his assistance in destroying the Jewish settlements in Palestine. If you care to get your facts right, you can find the contemporaneous German meeting notes here: http://www.timesofisrael.com/full-official-record-what-the-mufti-said-to-hitler/
10
The Canadians while not a warlike people are fearsome fighters when choosing to fight.
5
Thanks for this article, and for bringing to light forgotten tales of heroism. By the way, a fact that is almost never mentioned in World War II stories, movies, etc. (including the recent Durkirk) is the role of the Indian soldiers. More than 2.5 million Indians fought the Axis in the Middle East, Far East and in Africa. Almost 90,000 Indians were killed. Yet, most people, including Indians know hardly anything about this. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/world/asia/a-largely-indian-victory-in-world-war-ii-mostly-forgotten-in-india.html
26
Humble dedication and service. A lot of chest-thumping nationalists and armchair warriors could learn a lesson.
17
My dad served in the Army and it was the 13th Armored Division that overtook Hitler's birthplace: Braunau am Inn, Austria. He had pictures he took of the bridge that the allies destroyed. As a Jew he was proud of his service.
He too never talked about his experiences.
Other Jewish friends had fathers who saw combat in Europe too. One was in the Battle of the Bulge and another, a very mild mannered accountant, was a paratrooper.
15
I have/had two friends, both Jewish-Americans who were shot down over Germany and one was Assigned to Stalag III after the great escape. In spite of a death penalty for attempting to escape, he managed to escape & return to England to fly again. He went on to serve his country as a distinguished judge & public servant. His name was Milton Mollen (yes the head of the Mollen Commission). He never willingly spoke of his wartime experiences. A second friend is now ninety seven and served his country working as a NASA engineer. He too rarely speaks of the war.
14
Really enjoyed the article. My father, born 1921 in small town Saskatchewan, went to the RCAF in 1939 instead of the NHL. He flew three tours from Europe and Africa and eventually Burma. Four plane crashes. Only survivor of two. He said they always rode them in. Wanted to go on to Moscow at the end of the war. Personally, I'm glad he didn't. Told me came back in 45 to marry my mother because he noticed the married guys were surviving. Had two best buds in the airforce. One, a jew who got them out of Nigeria on false passports and a french canadian who had a way with the gals. Talked a bit about the war, reluctantly. Definitely suffered PTSD. Died happy at 91. Glad your dad made it too.
20
When I look at the photo of those young men I cannot help but think of the title of Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece "Slaughterhouse Five, or the Children's Crusade". Indeed.
7
My first cousin, Tech 4 Marvin Gillman, served as a paratrooper in the US Army's 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Wounded in Italy, he returned to his unit in time to be dropped into the Mediterranean during the invasion of southern France. It was night, and the crew must have made a navigation error. Marvin and everyone who parachuted out of that plane were never heard from again. This fine article made me think of him. He was 19 years old and is commemorated among the missing at the US military cemetery in Draguignan. France. Think of him from time to time because he was an only child and when his heartbroken parents passed on he had no close family to remember him. There are thousands like him. Yes, he was also Jewish.
16
Thank you for their service and for this article. -A Jewish half Canadian
5
Dear Aron Heller,
Thank you for this beautifully written and deeply moving story. I hope you will find a publisher to expand your article into a book and/or a screenplay and movie.
I only have one comment. You write Wilfred canter was "buried in a foreign land, thousand of miles from home'. Not quiet. He was buried in the Land of Israel and in that sense came home, at long last.
On another personal note, I am named after my father's oldest brother, who was a bomber pilot in the RAF (trained in Canada by the CRAF and later based at 604 squadron in Leconfield, England). He died with his complete crew when shot down over Germany. As a journalist and editor myself, with over 40 years of experience, I can only say: you are not only a good journalist and writer. You are a mensch. Once again, thank you.
21
Thank-you, thank-you, and thank-you again for this article.
I was born in Canada of a Holocaust survivor who worked in human rights for twenty five years in Eastern Europe for it was my mother and father's wish. I had returned to Canada and USA (where my daughter lives) only to find many Jews not really understanding what the Holocaust was and is really all about.
Yes, important most feel but what happened, how it happened, they either never really learned nor really understand; otherwise, they would be living their lives differently. I will try to write another book to summarize the problem for it seems we are definitely not learning from history and so often making the same mistakes until it becomes harder and harder to do something about it all...about the lack of respect as to what life is all about. Amen for now.
14
These personal stories are the ones that make the history of that war so much more meaningful, engaging and vibrant by bringing them to us on a level that is relatable. Written histories of the battles of war render the people who fought those battles faceless and unknown, random statistics in a book which makes war harder for me to fathom. These stories do the opposite, and make me feel personally connected to people I will never know, many of whom died long before I was born. I haven't truly appreciated the magnitude of the sacrifices that they made until it all came into stunning clarity for me just now, reading this article and the letters written in response. Their astonishing bravery and humanity. I wish I felt worthy of everything they gave.
16
@Anne Brockton
Anne - my dad was a pilot in Squadron 162 of the RCAF, flying anti-submarine PBYs in the North Atlantic. There is a WWII museum at The Hamilton airport -- with a PBY in the colors of 162 squadron. I hope to visit this summer. My Dad is gone now (at 96); his WWII flight log book is one of my most prized possessions.
8
good piece.
my paternal grandfather, not jewish, was in ww1. he was born in ottawa and his father in ireland before the partition. he arrived in canada as a teen in the 1880s.
i have the shillelagh his father brought with him hanging up on my living room wall.
my grandfather--we called him papa--was reluctant to talk about his experiences in the artillery firing 18 pounders at the germans.
60 years to the day after the war ended in 1918 and when he was 82, he opened up as i taped him.
some amazing stories about battles.
one of which made the french government award him the croix de guerre for action at amiens 10/10/18.
i wrote a piece that appeared in six canadian dailies about the war to end all wars.
unfortunately, it wasn't.
his oldest of three sons was killed in action in northern france barely three months after dday.
27
Several years ago I was in Georgetown, Guyana. After a meeting I decided to walk back to the hotel and on the way I passed the Georgetown Rabbit Walk Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. I walked over the footbridge and up to the dignified memorial that recognized the graves of 8 or 10 Commonwealth service personnel, I believe most were aircrew. Several were Canadian, all lost on the same date in 1943. I found it a quiet and moving moment in a place that, although today just a few hours by air from Canada, must have seemed the other end of the world to those young people in 1943 and to their families at home. I photographed one of the head stones and when I returned home to Vancouver I looked up the name on the Commonwealth War Graves website. I grew up in rural New Brunswick, a relatively small eastern Canadian province. No place is really very far from any other and so I was again moved to learn that the person whose headstone I photographed was from Centerville, N.B. He was Warrant Officer(pilot) Francis Arthur Robert Milbury, age 21 when he died on May 20, 1943. His parents from Centerville were Mary and Morley. I had the same thought as I viewed this young Canadian's grave site as the author of this article, how far away was this place for the parents and family of these people and what opportunity would they have had to visit this site that I found many years later to be so affecting.
25
My father fought in the Canadian army in WWII. He was in the Highland Light Infantry Signal Corps and participated in the Normandy invasion. He was badly wounded near Cannes in France, and the doctors were not able to remove all the shrapnel. He would never talk about the war after he returned to Toronto in 1945. There is a book called Jewish Youth at War: Letters from American Soldiers. My father's aunt, who lived in the United States, submitted one of my father's letters, and it was published in the book. I think he is the only Canadian soldier with a letter in the book. My father hated war and cared deeply about social justice.
23
Those of us lucky enough never to have been in combat, can only pretend to understanding of the memories, perspective and wishes of those who actually have fought.
What all us can be certain of is that in every war, regardless of side, there are countless heroes. Men (almost always), often with little or no choice, carrying out the wishes and plans of others, using their own flesh and blood to do so.
Religion may be something that those experiencing war, turn to. But regardless of religion, the experience of man in the horrors of war, presumably is the same.
How many millions of unsung heroes have passed in wars to date? My thought always has been: the heroes who complete a task, get the note. Heroes killed before they are ever able to do what they intend, get ignored (regardless of how brave, intelligent and daring their intention). I have no concerns at the unfairness of this, just a sadness that so many astounding heroes, remain unknown, because we cannot know what they intended (or whether they would do what they intended), so we just revere those who actually do. As context, one wonders, regardless of current hacking scandals, of the 25 million Russians who died in WWII, how many were real heroes? How many are remembered? How many of their stories are known? How many other wars have there been in the history of our planet? How fairly and completely have we revered the heroes in them? If we could revere heroes with the fervor with which we fight wars...?
15
My Uncle Albert Garshowitz died as part of the highly risky but very successful Dam Busters Mission. Winston Churchill described the mission as an important success as the allied war effort began to turn around in 1943. Uncle Albert was an authentic Canadian Jewish war hero.Our family continues to take great pride in his contribution to the allied war effort.
43
Thanks for the article. Though your grandfather may not want to be remembered in this way he now will in the NYT as long as the newspaper is published and likely long afterwards, A fitting memory.
18
The English translation from the official Hebrew Yizkor (= remembrance) site for Flight Commander Wilfred (Zeev) Canter:
http://machal.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=376&Itemid=650&lang=en
"Killed with him were two Canadians, co-pilot Fred Stevenson and navigator Willie Fisher."
31
@Joshua Schwartz
Thank you.
11
I read the story because my old man left in 39 with the First RCAF squadron. I fail to understand what religion has to do with courage. Wasp, Jew or French Canadian Catholic, what’s the difference in time of war?
What Americans should remember is that we always win. Never go to war without us. Or, if you didn’t get it, if you can’t convince us, don’t go.
Free advice in this Trump time.
13
@Skiplusse
Does "always" means the years and centuries and millennia when there was no US and Canada?
4
@Skiplusse As for the focus on Jews, it's particularly interesting because they were fighting the murderers of their fellow Jews. My uncle escaped Germany and shortly after he arrived in the U.S., he enlisted to fight the Nazis.
Regardless, your "old man" was certainly courageous.
8
@Skiplusse
Sadly, we don't always win...Vietnam, Korea... wars that should never have been fought and the loss of tens of thousands of young, vibrant men and women...not to mention our current, 18 year struggle in Afghanistan... for what?
5
A big thank you to all Canadians who fought on the side of the Allies in WW2.
44
@Mike Edwards I grew up in New Zealand my mum told us always remember the Americans saved us in World War 11. The Brits left the Australians and New Zealanders to their fate after Singapore fell. With our own troops and the Americans we prevailed.
34
@Mike Edwards Canada was at war in 39, when did Americans get involved? It’s the other way around...it’s for us to thank Americans.
7
@Mike Edwards Canada was at war against the Nazis for three years before the US got involved.
6
A nicely written tribute, lest we forget.
Armaments aside, I think the author confuses the risks to the crews of flying at night (RAF, RCAF) versus flying daytime missions (USAAF). The main justification for the increased risks of daytime operations, I think, was for improved bombing accuracy over their targets.
9
Thank you for the article. Just three comments. First, I understand that Wilfred Canter was born in Kiev, Ukraine and, when he was five-years-old, his parents emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto, where he completed elementary and technical high schools. Second, I don't think it's entirely fair to state, as you did, that "Canter was seemingly sucked back to fight for Israel..." Clearly, he was a most courageous individual, devoted to his beliefs and his people, and it was sense of devotion which would have motivated his decision, as it did for so many others from Canada, the United States and other countries. Which brings me to third; it is notable how many non-Jews left comfortable lives to assist Israel in its hour of need. Many of these people, both Jews and non-Jews, perished in the conflict. Those from North America who fell are listed here and all are deserving of recognition and remembrance - http://www.israelvets.com/forty_killed.html
48
My Uncle, Pvte. Benjamin Abraham Soloway, age 19, was one of those Canadian Jews who gave his life at the end of the War in the Battle of the Hochwald Gap. He rests in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. Thanks for this thoughtful article. It honors him and other fallen Jewish Canadians from Windsor Ontario and throughout Canada. Thank you.
64
The book and the movie. GI Jews, was about Jewish-American war heros. I regret that it didn't include their brethren from Canada like you grandfather and Wilfrid Canter.
23
These great men should NEVER be forgotten, wonderful article!
22
May God bless your grandfather.
21
I have been interviewing World War 2 Combat Veterans for twenty years and it was rare to meet one who had shared his story with family and/or friends.
At first I was surprised but then I understood why. Historically, the first question asked is, “What did you do during the war, Dad?”
If the Combat Veteran is brave and/or honest enough to respond, the second question, quite often is, “God, Dad how could you do and/or watch that.”
Once that bell was rung, there was no way to unring it. Therefore, the best response was none.
Once these men died, I offered to share their stories with their families and loved ones. Their responses were quite mixed - from immediate interest to a “let me think about it and I’ll call you back” that never again called.
I feel a responsibility to share and tell their stories - names omitted for family privacy - because these World War 2 Veterans, literally and figuratively, saved the world.
We need to know, understand and appreciate their service and sacrifice.
Bob Abate
39
Interesting and
Moving. Thank you.
12
I'm not Canadian, but I love the country! I am Jewish, and a professional pilot, and also a WWII history hound. While I have no ties to these men, as a pilot, I relate to their missions in time and space, even though it's a far cry from the peaceful missions I fly for my company in my modern 767 jet (I'm also am in Germany ALOT). Thank you for telling their story! It needs to be told so as not to be lost, but as they know/knew, killing is a lousy business and war IS hell. I don't think I would want to talk about it if I saw the stuff they did or experienced the slice of hell they did. They should at least take pride in that they ended the Nazi war machine---and that was worth doing.
74
@Joel
Well put!
4
I appreciated the article, my dad served in the US army during WWII and my granddad served in the British army during WWI. I served in Nam. It has been a long time coming but recognition for service is always welcome. Thanks to your Zaidy for his service.
38
A moving piece of history.
My father was not Jewish but he was Canadian, a naturalized citizen from an 'enemy' country he left as a child. When he tried to enlist to do his duty for Canada, he was rejected due to his heritage. He never overcame the hurt. But unlike many brave men, he lived to old age.
23
This heroism is within all of these men's descendants, it is within each and everyone of them and quite a few of everyone else who read this as well.
To be sure, many of you are capable of the exact same as those described in this article. Take faith in yourself and have heart.
The men in this article certainly did.
23
Thank you for witnessing Wilfred and Mickey's service. May the memories of each of these beloved men be a blessing.
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I want to add that my own father Bernard served in the US Army in WWII, and indeed, it was almost impossible to get him to talk about his own experiences of that time. Late in his life he did tell one terrible story, and his distress was still evident.
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Thank you for a truly memorable article that will be long remembered. Reminds me of the oft repeated phrase:
“We can never do enough for our Veterans”.
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My dad was a Jewish marine who fought in the Pacific, volunteering right out of high school. Until the day he died he had nightmares about his experiences.
The war made him a near-pacifist: he believed that there were times when war was necessary, but they were few and far between. Not even a water pistol was allowed at the house. He also believed in the draft. He would tell me that as long as you have a volunteer army the rich can use the children of the poor to fight wars to solidify their control of the world's resources. If you draft the children of the middle class, as we did for Vietnam, you get protest and (eventually) change.
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@JO _ Your father was a wise man. I would also add that if we made 27 the minimum age for military service the world would be very different as well. Young adults can be more easily motivated to vague ideas of patriotism. Mature adults consider the true nature of a given activity much more thoughtfully.
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Excellent article. "Most of their stories are lost to history..." Individual stories, yes. But the overall contribution of their service--their collective stories--in many respects is still very much with us. In many ways we owe the lives we have been able to live to them and their service.
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My father was a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 and flew 35 missions over Germany. When he flew, he wore a fake dog tag that labeled his religion as “P” for Protestant instead of his actual Jewish for fear of what would become of a Jewish American should he ever have to bail out.
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My father served in WWII in France and England. I have his dog tag which has H for Hebrew.
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I'm grateful for the thoughtful article, which provides useful information and also shows the writer's love and respect for his grandfather and the friend and hero he was willing to speak of, when he didn't wish to share his own war experiences. My father was a Jewish refugee who, with his family, arrived in New York at the age of five. The family fled the pogroms that took place in the Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the Russian Revolution and World War I. Dad enlisted in the U.S. Army in World War II, and served in the Sixth Cavalry of the Third Army, under General George Patton. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the last great German counter offensive, at the end of 1944. I was a baby boomer, born in 1950. When I was growing up, he refused to discuss his war experiences, telling me that he was afraid they would be "romanticized". The "real heroes of the Battle of the Bulge", he once told me, "weren't alive to talk of their heroism". Perhaps, the reticence Mr. Heller's grandfather expressed, in speaking about his own war experiences, was for similar reasons. In any case, once I was in my thirties and my father was approaching the end of his life, he opened up about his experiences in the war. Recalling the memories of our discussions fills me both pride and sorrow, as one thinks of a very young man, one's father, in harm's way and encountering, on occasion, abject horror, as when a unit he was with liberated a concentration camp.
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@Joe Goldiamond
My father served in the Navy, and spoke little about it. My brother was named after my father's brother, who, as part of Yankee Division, was seriously wounded during the Battle of the Bulge and died -- but not until early 1947, having spent his last years at a Veterans Hospital in Massachusetts.
My father spoke little about his own experiences, and never about his brother. He was anti-war. When plans were pushed for the WWII monument in Washington, DC, his view was that the government should spend more money on those who served,(including, by then, Vietnam and Iraq Vets) honoring their obligations, and none to glorify war.
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Such mixed feelings, that you told the story your grandfather didn't want told. But what a story! Thank you!.
As an aside, Jews are often suspected of a lack of patriotism and dual loyalties. Thank you for setting the record straight.
(My American grandfather served in WWI and my father in WWII and Korea. My father volunteered for Korea.)
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A nice tribute to your grandfather and Mr. Canter. I know that the casualty rate for US bomber crews in Europe was much higher than that of the infantry. I am sure the rate was equally high for British and allied crews. I think one thing WWII veterans had going for them was the absolute righteousness of the cause—clearly a struggle against evil. Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, not so much.
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@Eugene Phillips Gene, as a Vietnam veteran (USN, Yankee Station 1969-1970) and the son of a World War II veteran (Combat Engineer) I totally agree. There is a clear and obvious distinction. between "defensive wars of Necessity (World War II)" and "unnecessary wars of choice (Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan)." Many "selective conscientious objectors" would have served in the former, but justifiably refused to serve in the latter.
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@Eugene Phillips:
as far back as the Civil War veterans suffered from what we would now call PTSD....it wasn't recognized of course.
Read up on the rates of opioid addiction following that war....though another commenter here has an excellent point about so many now surviving wounds, illnesses etc they would have died from then.
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It was the experience of a generation, and of generations. My father, my father-in-law, my uncles--we children couldn't get much out of them about their experiences. Later, as a Marine, I came to understand. Then, men took what came and cared for their families afterward. Now everyone claims PTSD and wants someone else to take care of them. It's quite a change from earlier generations.
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@Michael, PTSD is a very real malady suffered by combat veterans, as well as rape victims and survivors of shootings and other traumas. Many World War II veterans were told to "suck it up and push on," as many veterans are told today. Yet many veterans succumb to alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide (22 per day according to V.A. statistics). If nothing more, they deserve to put those negative experiences behind them and live quiet and fulfilling lives. The tragedy is that too many veterans do not realize that goal on return to civilian life.
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@Michael
I do not think that many claim PTSD as a dodge.
The wounds to the brain are very real and still not very well understood, part of why treatment is difficult.
My late father was a veteran of World War II- US Navy in the Pacific- as were many of my Uncles. Veterans of that era are almost all gone and many of those who sill survive now live with dementia and the other maladies of aging. Their stories- if not recorded or told- will be lost to history.
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@Michael
Stop and think, please. Many more recent combat veterans who suffer from PTSD today would have died from the same wounds had they served in WWII. Advances in medicine have saved these (overwhelmingly) men, but have relegated them to a life of pain and suffering which was previously unknown. Additionally, many WWII vets also suffered from PTSD but it went undiagnosed.
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Very interesting article...these reminiscent stories are important lest we ever forget the contributions of the greatest generation.
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Great article! A deserved tribute to those who fought and came home and to those that sadly never returned. There must be still so many stories to uncover and so many like Mickey's, that will never be told.
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The Volunteers from around the world who went to Israel to prevent the extinction of the Jews during the war for Independence are called MACHAL. Canter was one of these men.
My father supplied the planes which he smuggled out of the USA so that there was a small air force when the war began . The US and other countries had an embargo on Israel.The country had few weapons and almost no planes. Interestingly my father was arrested when flying a a plane out when he stopped in Canada to refuel but he escaped the mounties .
So many stories, Dad was arrested but didn't serve time in fact the only man to serve time for smuggling planes was a gentile.
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@Chelsea, Thank you for your comment. Those who volunteered to serve in Israel's "War of Independence" deserve our gratitude, particularly in overcoming immense obstacles, such as the arms embargo against Israel, to be able to serve. I thank your father for his service. A documentary filmmaker is working on a film about the early years of the Israeli Air Force. It should be a fitting memorial to those volunteers who served and died to help make the dream of Israel into a reality.
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@Chelsea Nancy Spielberg film available on Amazon https://aboveandbeyondthemovie.com/
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Lovely articulation as to why
we call them the greatest generation.
Thank you for reminding us of
their contribution to our freedom
today.
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@Karen
With what is going on today, it makes me sick to think the sacrifices of these brave military people may eventually go to waste. They truly fought a war against fascism. Now we have an American administration that is complicit with governments the antithesis of democracy. Will democracy really die?
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@Mark B.
I sure hope democracy will prevail. However we seem to be witnessing a "slow coup" that started with Congress refusing to even consider any legislation that Obama supported and even refused to consider any potential judge in the federal system, including the Supreme Court.
This slow coup starting during the Obama administration begat Trump and now the threat of Nazism....
I sure hope it will not come to pass....
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A wonderful story. Thank you. Canada is saturated by American culture and propaganda resulting in an ignorance of its own stories.
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@Paul
Thank you Mr Heller and to the New York Times for telling this important story.
Regarding Canter’s “stay” in Stalag Luft III, although “The Great Escape” was a wonderful movie, like many movies about WWII, the role played by Americans overlooked that contributed by other nations including Canada. In fact there were no American prisoners in Stalag Luft III. On the other hand Canadians were critical in the escape. Including the chief tunnel diggers, the security man, the chief document forger. And then there was Wally Floody, a mining engineer from Kirkland Lake, Ontario —“The Tunnel King”—who oversaw the construction of the three escape tunnels.
Five Australians and six Canadians were part of “The Fifty” executed by the Nazis. The movie was based on the book by Aussie Paul Brickhill.
Plenty of Canadian and Australians were big name movie stars at the time who could have stepped into these roles and carried the story to Canadians like the descendants of Mr Heller and Mr Canter. And would have been fine with American audience.
Here are some Canucks who could have done the job:
Canadians: Donald Sutherland, Christopher Plummer, Walter Pidgeon, Glen Ford
Aussies: Rod Taylor anyone?
24
New Zealanders are not usually part of the narrative also because there are so few of them.
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@Applecounty-Here's a New Zealand story for you that I recently found out: My mother was a prisoner in the Riseria San Sabba in Trieste, Italy, and she was there when the camp was liberated by a unit of the New Zealand Army that was attached to the British 8th Army. She was severely malnourished, sick, and would not have lived much longer had it not been for the NZ soldiers who liberated that camp.
Here is a link to more information and blessings to those NZ soldiers. They saved many lives that day:https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle_uuid=25532DC7-0DC1-9E06-52D1-E5EAF6D5F288
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@Wood Gal Thank you for the San Sabba site. This was completely unknown to me.
It is obvious that men who never served in the military use warlike language and threats of violence to pump up their false,sad, impotent masculinity. Our president is a perfect example of this.
23
"Never volunteer" - that made me laugh. My father, also born in 1921, now passed, fought in Europe in WWII and said the same thing. That was the extent of the wisdom he shared from those days. Also tight lipped about it, only sharing amusing, non-combat stories. A Jewish vet, but that aspect was never part of the story.
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Sherbrooke Quebec had a small Jewish Community since the turn of the century. Most of the community who were of fighting age during WW2 all volunteered for the Canadian Forces. I know of 13 of which 2 became German POW's and one was killed in action. http://sherbrookejewishcommunity.echenberg.com/armed_forces_service
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Beautifully written, Aron.
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Sherbrooke Quebec had a small Jewish Community since the turn of the century. Most of the community who were of fighting age during WW2 all volunteered for the Canadian Forces. I know of 13 who volunteered of which 2 became German POW's and one of whom was killed in action. Another, Col Sam Echenberg, became the highest ranking Jew in the Canadian Forces in WW2. http://sherbrookejewishcommunity.echenberg.com/armed_forces_service
25
My uncle served as an RCAF navigator in Bomber Command in WWII. In 1948, he too volunteered. He was the navigator of the doomed Dakota on the night of October 24/25, 1948. Three of the Eleven Canadian MACHAL (Hebrew acronym for Volunteers from abroad) who gave their lives in 1948, died in that crash along with a British MACHAL and the Israeli coordinator of those supply runs..
The Canadians were Wilf Canter, Fred Stevenson, and my uncle Willy Fisher. Their names are read aloud every year at the Nevatim AFB memorial service among the names of all members of the base squadrons who lost their lives in the line of duty.
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My Jewish father was a medic in Europe during WW2. He filmed his entire war experiences..and the films are at the Jewish Heritage Museum. I also have some photos which are excellent. He was shot 3 times and died at 105. Wendy [email protected]
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@W Banen Who would shoot a 105-year-old man? That's terrible!
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@Paul Kolodner
I think your joke is misplaced.
5
Thanks for his service. May he Rest In Peace.
2
My father served during WWII in the Royal Canadian Airforce as a morse code operator in Labrador. After the war he volunteered with Machal and served during the War of Independence at Sde Dov.
My hero.
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An excellent article pointing out a little-known aspect of WW2. But there are many more similar stories that deserve publicity. It is a little-known fact that there were actually 3 German Jews who fought as pilots in Britain's Royal Air Force. One of them stole the identity of a dead British schoolmate in order to enlist, and he was the object of a police manhunt as a possible German spy. He went on to fly 22 combat missions as a bomber pilot, before his plane was fatally damaged by flak over Berlin. He crash-landed near Amsterdam, was captured by the Nazis, and spent almost 4 years as a POW in his own country, with no protection whatsoever under the Geneva Convention. Had the Nazis discovered his true identity, the consequences would have been unpleasantly fatal. And yet he went on to make 9 escape attempts, getting outside the wire on 3 occasions. He was Head of Contacts (scrounging) at Stalag Luft 3's East Compound, and was later awarded one of only 69 British Military Crosses given to Royal Air Force aircrew for gallantry in WW2. A little-known story indeed, but one perhaps deserving of a bit more notoriety. He was born in Hanover with the name Georg Hein, but died in 1979 still using the name he had stolen, Peter Stevens.
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Great story. My grandfather a German Jew fought for the Germans-in World War I. From what I understand he was highly decorated
(Perhaps Iron Cross second class) He and my mother barely got out in 1939 made their way
To Shanghai were they eventually became de facto prisoners of the Japanese.
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@Marc Stevens
I knew your dad very briefly and I had heard stories of his courage. I knew him when he was the Executive Director of the Ontario Home Builders Association.
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@Pedro Greenberg My grandfather, too! And the thanks he got for his service to Germany was imprisonment in a concentration camp about 20 years later. Fortunately, he was able to leave after a few months.
6