Tim Cook (1) (1971–)

This book is so thought provoking. The history of the remembrance of the second world war in Canada is fraught with, ironically, conflict. This book lays out the history of this political and social battles over how the war should be remembered and how we should honor those that sacrificed. I found myself growing exasperated over some of the fights, like why Veterans Associations would not want a holocaust section in a museum about the Canadian in world war 2. Or the refusal to differentiate between a baseball cap and religious headwear in veterans club policies. The author sometimes provides his own opinion which did not always align with how I felt about the issue being discussed. I question the authors use of the loaded term "activist history". He leaves this term vague and unexplained as to why he thinks activism and history are incompatable.

Those things aside, I really got a lot out of this one. I've read a lot about the second world war and I found I got a lot of insight from the book about Canada's post war history. I found it fascinating that many Canadian leaders involved with the war never wrote about their experiences leading to a lack of stories about Canada's contribution. The idea that the memory of the first world war over shadows the second world war in terms of remembrance symbolism and imagery is striking although I would like to move toward a time when those two wars are seen as a single long war with a 20 year armistice. I think that is the only real useful way of learning from why the second world war occurred in the first place. It is heartening to read about and witness Canada's contribution to the war generating more interest among Canadians today. I hope that it continues to be told in diverse ways, reaching to find untold experiences and new voices.… (more)

Cook, a historian at the Canadian War Museum, uses this volume to chronicle the lack of historical recognition for Canada's effort in winning WW II. Whereas WW I seemed important to Canadians because the Battle of Vimy gave them an event to focus on and especially as that battle is often call the event that made Canada. In WW II Canadian troops fought all over the world and made major contributions in Italy as well as Europe, Africa and the far east not to mention the Battle of the Atlantic.

Where would you put a memorial like the one that marks Vimy to this day. After the war, the government focus and settling vets and boosting the economy and veterans wanted to forget the war. As well there was little interest in building a memorial to commemorate the war.

Cook also writes about the many controversies that trouble Canadian veterans up to the present including Hong Kong POW's, apologizing to Japanese Canadians put in camps during the war, the Kurt Meyer case, an improved war museum, veteran benefits and the Valour and Horror TV series.… (more)