We Lived In Danger: From True Prairie Boy to Royal Regina Rifleman (eBook)

"e;We Lived in Danger"e; is a deeply personal and straightforward story about a small-town Canadian boy from Saskatchewan, Victor Hepburn Small, and a salient and fascinating slice-of-life glimpse into the World War II era. "e;Vic's"e; formative years in the Big Sky country, and his love affair for early 1900's prairie culture, prepared him for an extraordinary life event: to serve his country during WWII. Ensuring his membership in Canada's greatest generation, "e;Vic"e; enlisted in 1942 at age 18, "e;to fight the Germans. Every living body did the same thing."e;Published by his wife after his death in 2021, this memoir is not only a labor of love, but also a remarkably unique anthology. Vic's transcribed "e;Blue Bombers"e; leave letters (how soldiers stayed in touch with family by airmail) are both gripping and eloquent, and reveal with intimate, authentic, and genuine curiosity, vivid details of his experience as a young man serving in the European Theatre from 1943 to 1945. Not unlike many Canadian soldiers, Vic carried his film camera with him - all the way from solider training in Alberta and British Columbia, across the pond on Cunard Line's Queen Mary - to England, Scotland and Germany. Lovingly preserved by his family for over 75 years, Vic shares a collection of snapshots from his time, taken from an album he put together of over 150 captioned photos of life and wartime. Vic's story is truly a tribute to the undeniable resolve of his generation, a rare, historic fingerprint of an analytical, yet curious young Canadian man extending his view of the world around him, and finally, an insight into the heart-breaking reality for veterans of war back then, and the few survivors left now.