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William Pearly Oliver, CM, minister, army chaplain and community organizer (born 11 February 1912 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; died 26 May 1989 in Lucasville). Oliver was a social activist, educator and minister. He cofounded the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP) and the Black United Front (BUF). He was also instrumental in the creation of the Black Cultural Society and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia.

"There was a lot of targets but both sides were doing cruel things. There’s nothing sweet or easy about war and there’s nobody fighting clean wars anymore."

See below for Mr. Friedman's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

"We were told that if you ever got shot down, to make sure you leave the area of your parachute."

See below for Mr. Ryckman's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

William Neilson Hall, seaman (born 25 April 1829 in Horton Bluff [now Lockhartville], NS; died 25 August 1904 near Hantsport, NS). William Hall was the first Black person, the first Nova Scotian and the first Canadian naval recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

"I hit Korea and then seeing this poor country devastated, bombed out, burned out, blown up, it was absolutely mind boggling for a young guy to see all this."

See below for Mr. Harrison's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

The First World War forever changed Canada. Some 630,000 Canadians enlisted from a nation of not yet eight million. More than 66,000 were killed. As the casualties mounted on the Western Front, an expatriate Canadian, Sir Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook), organized a program to document Canada’s war effort through art, photography and film. This collection of war art, made both in an official capacity and by soldiers themselves, was another method of forging a legacy of Canada’s war effort.

"The story, however, is not about how the Canadians were defeated. It’s about how they fought and how they behaved against impossible odds."

See below for Mr. MacDonell's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

James MacBraire, soldier, merchant, shipowner, justice of the peace (b at Enniscorthy, Wexford, Ire 1760; d at Berwick on Tweed, Eng 24 Mar 1832). He is first recorded in Harbour Grace, Nfld, in the 1780s working as a clerk for a Bristol firm engaged in the cod fishery.

"At Dieppe, with only 5,000 of our troops involved, we had almost 1,000 killed and 2,000 taken prisoner, many of them wounded, in just six hours battle. So, you can see the ferocity of the battle."

See below for Mr. Warren's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

"When they started with depth charges, the explosions just about lifted the ship out of the water. This went on for hours. Finally, sometime in the evening, it stopped. We had run out of depth charges, all 75 of them."

See below for Mr. Sygrove's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

The Coloured Corps (also known as Runchey's Company of Coloured Men, or Black Corps) was a militia company of Black men raised during the War of 1812.

"The next thing I know I hear a creaking noise – “Hey, we’re moving here you know?” So I go up on deck, hurrying up. I looked where we were coming from. There’s a little dark spot over there, which is Seattle. There’s water all around me. I said, “What the hell did you get yourself into now?”"

See below for Mr. Eagle's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

From 1993 to 1995, Canada was a leading contributor to a series of United Nations peacekeeping missions in the African nation of Rwanda. However, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), led by Canadian Major-General Roméo Dallaire, was powerless to prevent the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans in 1994. Following the genocide, a new contingent of Canadian troops returned to Rwanda as part of UNAMIR II, tasked with restoring order and bringing aid to the devastated population. Hundreds of Canadian soldiers, including Dallaire, returned from their service in Rwanda deeply scarred by what they had witnessed.

James Miranda Steuart Barry, FRS (probably born Margaret Anne Bulkley), military surgeon, physician (born c. 1789–99; died 25 July 1865 in London, England). Posted across the British Empire, Barry reformed medical standards in the British army. His final and highest-ranking position was as inspector-general of military hospitals in the Province of Canada in the 1850s. After his death, it was reported that Barry’s assigned sex at birth was female. This has sparked significant debate about his identity.

Note on pronouns: This article refers to James Barry with masculine pronouns, as this was how Barry referred to himself throughout his life.

On 5 July 1916, the Department of Defence and Militia authorized the formation of No. 2 Construction Battalion. It was the largest Black unit in Canadian history. Its members continued the proud tradition of service to king and country that went back to the American Revolution and continued through the War of 1812 and the Rebellions of 1837–38 to the start of the First World War. But there were many obstacles: Black soldiers and communities faced racism both at home and overseas, despite their commitment to the war effort.

No. 8 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) was the second Black unit formed in the First World War, after No. 2 Construction Battalion. From November 1918 to March 1919, No. 8 Company improved and repaired airfields and roads in northern Belgium and Germany, providing valuable support to the Royal Air Force (RAF).