“Timberlands of B.C. threatened by Japanese incendiary bombs.”1 Bomb carrying balloons floated over Canada and the United States in 1945. Each of the estimated 9,300 balloons released carried at least one high explosive and two incendiary munitions that would be...
Warning. This article may contain themes and language some may find offensive. Leading up to the start of World War II, British Columbia was gripped by fear of the so-called ‘Oriental Menace.’1 Many believed that Asian immigrants would soon dominate commercial,...
In Part I, we followed the 9th Canadian Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Dragoons), of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division, down into the Foglia River valley to breach the German defences of the Gothic Line above Montecchio and into the highlands around Tomba di...
The Italian Campaign saw large contingents of American, British, Canadian, and other Allied forces—both army, air units—unite to liberate Italy from Nazi German control, advancing from Sicily to the Alps. The Apennine Mountains, like a spine down the country’s length,...
One of Kelowna’s primary links to D-Day, June 6, 1944, is through the service career of Rodney Frederick Leopold Keller (1900-1954). [See Friendly Fire from Above at okanaganmilitarymuseum.ca for more about General Keller] Major General R.F.L. Keller CBE [Fig....
Canadian troops were at the forefront during momentous events in 1944. Two British Columbia units, the Westminster Regiment (Motor), and the 9th Canadian Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Dragoons), of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division thrust through the breach in...