“On V-E Day I was in hospital, I had been wounded a couple of days before the war ended. We all knew by that time that the war was winding down, but there was no great sense of elation among us. We had lost too many friends for that...” 

…” In my view, the guys who came home with their health intact lived the good life, and you really couldn’t ask for anything more than that. The ones I really feel for today are the kids who never got the opportunity to come home. In many ways, they are still forgotten. Just like recruits at the College, those kids became such close teammates, and depended so much on each other, that if we could I’m sure we would have replaced them with our own family members.”

S109 Major Danny McLeod, MC, CD

“When the war ended I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt; certainly, I didn’t feel in a joyous mood. I remember attending a church service shortly after the announcement came, and it was a very eerie feeling. I remember asking myself again and again, why am I here when so many others are not? Why did God choose me to survive, when so many other good men went to their deaths?”…. 

….”In today’s world I always hear people talking about “management”. I hate that word. What RMC and the war taught me is that it’s really all about leadership. That’s the only thing that makes a real difference in any situation in life.” 

2761 Colonel Syd Frost

“On May 6, after we had been marching for about 35 or 40 days after leaving the POW camp, we got up to discover that no guards were around, apparently the Germans had decided to flee during the night. At that point, we were about 50 miles from Lubeck. Not long afterwards, we could hear the British troops approaching, and when they arrived, we knew we were finally free...” 

…” I spent 27 months as a POW. Every day I thank God for keeping me alive. Every day I thank God that I am a Canadian.” 

H15200 The Honourable Gilles Lamontagne, OC, CQ, CD

“I was in England on V-E Day, I had been wounded in December 1944 and had been evacuated shortly thereafter. I remember that when the announcement came, everything went crazy. People were all over the place celebrating. I had volunteered to the Duty Officer that day. I remember that even the defaulters who were serving time in the Detention Barracks wanted to break out and celebrate with all the rest. 

I myself wasn’t really in any mood to participate in a celebration, I had lost too many of my men for that. On one level, I realized that the end of the war was a great thing. But basically, the only thing I remembered feeling was that I just wanted to go home.” 

2759 Lieutenant-Colonel Charly Forbes, CD