John Perry Goddard and Byrnece Forsyth, June 30, 1945

All three made it home, Gramps married my Tutu, and never, ever talked about the war until his youngest brother died in 1998, when he seemed to realize that if he didn't share we would never know.

I asked him why the navy, and he said "I decided I'd rather drown than be shot or blown up."

He had three sons, each of whom chose to enlist when WWII started – my grandfather in the navy, the middle brother in the army, and the youngest signed up to be a paratrooper.

I asked Gramps once what his mother thought when he signed up and he said "I think she knew it was inevitable."

On the other side of the family, my great grandfather arrived in Canada in 1910 and when the war started he enlisted in the air force. He was a cabinet maker by trade and spent WWII working on airplanes – which at the time, of course, were made out of wood.

Edna Young Coulter and John James (Jack) Scanlon, June 27, 1925. The best man is my Great Uncle Joe (who my Dad was named after), I don't know the maid of honour.

She married a man who had come to Canada in 1912 before enlisting and going right back over. As far as I can tell by the records I have, he was a Ypres. He described it as being on fire.

He was in his 50s when Canada joined the WWII, he told my Granny he had to go.

Eagle, Sam the Eagle

He was my second thought, after Sam

I believe he meant in total

Just a bunch of people standing around the Ottawa airport changing the course of the nation