Military veterans keen to share their history as numbers drop: ‘It still haunts me’

The time around Remembrance Day is tough for Second World War veterans like Hank Jackson, who turns 103 in January.

The time around Remembrance Day is tough for Second World War veterans like Hank Jackson, who turns 103 in January.

“It’s the only time you really stop and think about all the poor buggers that didn’t make it,” said Jackson, a former tail gunner on a Halifax bomber.

Jackson flew 32 combat missions from the United Kingdom. All members of his crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses from the United States Armed Forces.

“They’ve all disappeared. My father and my brother were both in the army overseas– my father in the First World War — and all three of us made it back. So we did above average. We gotta remember a lot of those guys that didn’t.”

Bill Cook, who is 98 and was also a tail gunner in the Second World War, flew a dozen missions over Europe.

“My crew have all passed away. It still haunts me.”

More than one million Canadians served in the Second World War. More than 45,000 died and another 55,000 were wounded. Another 33,000 fought in the Korean War.

Veterans Affairs Canada says there are 9,267 veterans of the Second World War and Korean War who are still alive in Canada.