The Battlefords is the latest stop for a TV production effort dedicated to capturing the voices of Canada's armed forces veterans.
In Battleford was Allan Cameron, executive director and producer with Veterans Voices of Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to telling the stories of Canada's veterans.
Cameron was at Battleford Royal Canadian Legion No. 9 Wednesday and Thursday of last week. There he interviewed about a half-dozen local veterans to capture their stories about their time in combat.
The videos will end up at the website www.vetvoicecan.org, which right now features video profiles of Canadian veterans from the army, navy and air force, as well as other war witnesses from the era.
The effort is designed to give veterans an opportunity to share their experiences about the Second World War, the Korean War and other experiences, and serve as a historical and educational resource for future generations.
"Today, 716 veterans have been interviewed so far by Veterans Voices of Canada," said Cameron. "And we have copies donated to each of the families as well."
It's an effort that has taken Cameron across Canada, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.
Cameron, who is based in Sylvan Lake, Alta., had worked 15 years in the TV industry and brought the same high production standards to his interviews.
"That basically trained me to do what I do now," he said.
He sets up interviews with veterans in advance and those are usually an hour long. For his Battleford trip, the lower level of the Legion Hall in Battleford was converted into a TV set with Cameron setting up a Panasonic HVX200 AP broadcast quality video camera, proper lighting and backgrounds for his interviews with veterans.
"I want to put some quality production into it as well," said Cameron. "That's my giving back to the veterans there."
The raw video will be edited into finished pieces complete with background music, pictures, film footage and other elements to enhance the stories being told. The finished videos are then uploaded onto the website. Copies will also go to schools and museums across Canada and Cameron estimates about 500 DVDs have been sent to schools already. Other copies have gone to different regimental squadrons and naval museums.
So far Cameron has been concentrating on the Second World War and Korean War veterans and trying to get as many of their stories documented as possible. Of all the veterans he has interviewed about 650 served in one of those wars.
The biggest struggle has not been in getting veterans to talk, but in funding the operation. The non-profit operates based on donations, including private donations, some government donations and also some help from the legions. The donations are tax deductible, he says.
The stories Cameron hears from veterans never fails to inspire him. The ones from Battleford are no exception.
One of his local interviews was with Ross Green, a signalman on several naval ships, the last being HMCS Charlottetown.
"He was basically a sub hunter," said Cameron. "He was a convoy escort going from the east coast to Europe, protecting our ships, protecting the inventory that went to support the war effort. Also on the west coast he did patrolling for Japanese submarines, so amazing stories from Ross."
Other interviews included those who had served in Europe, while one spoke of witnessing the Halifax riots. "They're all amazing stories. Every one of these stories that I hear opens my eyes," said Cameron.
Also interviewed during Cameron's visit to the Battlefords were June O'Laney, Max O'Laney, Lorne Miller and Alexander Kovar.
Esther Delainey, president of Legion No. 9, welcomes the opportunity for the stories of local veterans to be told.
"The reason I feel this is very important is we do not have a whole lot of knowledge about what our veterans went through," said Delainey.
She calls it "very important for future generations" and will help people "appreciate what they did for us."
While Cameron has wrapped up his trip to the Battlefords, he is interested in coming back and capturing even more stories of local veterans and their experiences in combat.
He knows there are many more veterans in the Battlefords and wants them to know he is interested in capturing their stories on video.
"What we'd like to do is get more veterans to come forward and be documented," said Cameron. "We have to document our veterans for history and education. These men and these women, they made our Canadian military history for us. We know the wars, we know the battles, we know who won, but we need to know more about the individuals who made that happen."
Those interested should contact Veterans Voices of Canada at their website www.vetvoicecan.org. or contact Cameron at his email at [email protected]. Those interested can also contact the legion for more information.
