Respected speaker shares the untold stories of veterans

Military author Ted Barris spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Legion, sharing tales from the frontlines that were included in one of his books. A captivated audience listened as he recounted stories of heroism. (Robin Krafft Photo)

Robin Krafft, Post Contributor

Author, journalist and historian Ted Barris was at the Tillsonburg Legion on Oct. 17 to give a talk that shared the title of his 17th book: “Breaking The Silence”, which reveals “veteran's untold stories from the Great War to Afghanistan”.

The event was sold out within days of its announcement, and included a roast beef dinner prepared by the Tillsonburg Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Verhoeve Funeral Home and MyMotors.ca were the sponsors for the event. Barris is an honorary member of the Tillsonburg Military History Club, and has written 22 books, and has conducted over 6,000 veteran interviews.

With decades of delving into military history behind him, he opened his talk by saying: "I've learned that some stories you have to search deeper to find." He described how "veterans have developed a script to deflect journalists who ask the tough questions," and how profoundly PTSD has affected their lives. Throughout the evening, there were murmurs of assent from the audience, gasps, and even some laughter as Barris interjected moments of levity to break the darkness of his subject matter.

Barris began by sharing the story of Charley Fox, DFC, CD, "the original torchbearer" who told him: "you are going to tell our stories." It was the beginning of a 20-year friendship. Fox explained he hadn't talked about his own experiences for 40 years because he felt guilty for surviving. He travelled widely, however, sharing the stories of his comrades and veterans at speaking engagements.

Fox joined the RCAF at the age of 20, graduating at the top 10 per cent of his class and earning his wings in 1941. They made him an instructor, and for the next two years he served at the No 6 Service Flying Training School in Dunnville, accumulating 1,500 hours of instruction and training hundreds of military pilots.

He was sent overseas in 1943, where he trained in Spitfires and completed over 200 combat sorties, including the infamous attack in July of 1944 that left German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel injured and hospitalized. It wasn't until 1992 that his actions were recognized with the headlines reading "Canadian spitfire ace given credit for shooting Rommel". He returned with honours, receiving two Distinguished Flying Crosses. A longtime member of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, Fox is now memorialized on a banner in Tillsonburg, as well as a tribute atop a sculpture situated at the Charley Fox Memorial Overpass in London. ON.

Barris also shared the story of reluctant hero "Ronnie" Egan, WRCNS. Known as "Wrens" in WW2, almost 7,000 Canadian women served in crucial non-combat roles at naval bases, enabling men to be on active duty. Egan had trained in Guelph, and was posted to Halifax in 1944. She was present for the famous Halifax riots on May 7 and 8, 1945, standing up to an arsonist and refusing to allow him to set fire to the store she was leaving.

Barris has also spoken to many veterans of the Korean war, stating that "it took a long time for us to recognize Korean vets." He told the story of Lt. Hal Merrithew, who had received a Military Cross for his heroics on the night of Oct. 8, 1952. He had served with the Van Doos in the Second World War and was deployed to the Korean warfront in 1952 when the fighting was stalemated at the 38th parallel.

On that fateful night, he described hearing explosions in the darkness out in front of them when a patrol had accidentally entered the Canadian minefield.

"He chose men to go out with metal detectors to find the injured and the mines and those waiting to be rescued. They spent 90 minutes crawling on the ground with bayonets, and they didn't know what was out there,” Barris related.

The final story Barris shared moved many in the audience to tears. He described the April 17, 2002 “friendly fire” incident in Afghanistan, and how he had tracked down some of the Canadians who were there. He interviewed Lt. Jeff Peck and Cpl. Brian Decare, who took shrapnel in the face and hand when the bomb fell.

He also spoke with medic Sgt Bill Wilson, saying, "He was there and immediately responded to go in to triage in the dark with a headlamp." When he asked Wilson if the headlamps were standard issue, Wilson said no, explaining that his mom sent them to him from Home Hardware.

Peck, the platoon commander, told Barris that the mountain missions were very difficult, and they often didn't know who the enemy was. When the bomb hit, he was near the ammo truck and responded, although he didn't know what the bomb was. Barris described how "they used fluorescent sticks to mark where they had secured the perimeters of the casualty area."

It was later, when Peck was asked to assist with escorting his comrade Matthew Dawes, who was killed in action, home to rest that the grief overwhelmed him. In the car from Trenton to Toronto, he experienced a roller coaster of emotions, describing how the sight of hundreds of people on the bridges staggered him. "Nothing could have prepared me for the Highway of Heroes experience," he told Barris.

Local author and historian Dr. Jason Pankratz, who introduced Barris as a steward of veterans' stories, offered some words of closure: "It is the honour of the listener to just sit and listen, but also to think about the stories they don't share, that they keep to themselves."

Military History Club President Les Burden thanked Barris, saying "the stories are flowing tonight." He described the impact of trauma with a personal story about his father, who served with the military police during WW2, and was there when they opened the gates at Bergen-Belsen. Burden didn't know what his father had endured until after his death and often couldn't understand him.

"Dad would not break that silence," he said, "but I wish he had."