New Book, ‘Honour’, Profiles Veterans And Supporters Behind The Scenes Of World War II

One thing that dawned on photographer Yuri Dojc as he immortalized aging WWII veterans for the recently released book, Honour, was how skewed our hero worship is.  Sports and entertainment figures are often put on lofty pedestals, while men and women who sacrifice so much for others, live, and die, in relative obscurity.

“Every country has their heroes and they don’t have to necessarily be hockey stars or movie stars,” Dojc remarked.  “They can be old men walking down the street and you don’t think too much about them, but boy you sit down with them and they tell you things and you think, ‘Oh God, who is the real hero, a hockey player, or him?”

Honour, which was inspired by the recent death of Canada’s last WWI veteran, features gripping portraits and interviews with 35 veterans and individuals behind the scenes of the war effort.  

There’s lovers, torn apart by battle and reunited decades later, soldiers like Dr. Eldon Comfort, who dedicated his life to the peace movement, and tales of bitter battlefield enemies who became friends in later years.  

 

The proceeds from the book are being donated to Canadian organizations committed to the remembrance of Canada’s veterans.  They include The War Amps Operation Legacy.

Published by Chartwell Seniors Housing, the men and women reside in retirement homes across the country.  

Sharon Henderson, Director of Communications for Chartwell, interviewed the subjects and penned their tales, while Dojc provided the photos.

“Chartwell was approached by Yuri,” Henderson explained.  “Yuri wanted to produce a book about veterans, we have veterans living in our homes across Canada, it seemed like a perfect fit.”

 

Henderson realizes that time is running short on many WWII veterans, and their stories must be told.

“That generation came home and they did not talk about it that much because they had young children at home and they sort of wanted to protect them from some of those horrors that they saw first hand,” she told CityNews. 

“And when we sat down and interviewed these veterans and they would start to tell stories that their children hadn’t heard, we could see them listening intently with tears on their cheeks, as well as ours, as we heard some of these really amazing, heroic tales.”

“It was a very humbling experience to meet these individuals.”