Fame by accident; immortality by chance. Either way, Nurse Edith Shain will never be able to take back her spontaneous kiss in Times Square on V-J Day. The moment itself was captured by one of Life’s photographers and the identity of both the sailor and the nurse was left a mystery for years. It became one of the most recognized symbols representing the end of World War Two. In the late 1970s, Edith Shain finally revealed herself as the nurse in the photo, although the identity of the young sailor has never been discovered. Since then, Ms. Shain had been attending memorial ceremonies across the country, and participated in numerous V-J Day celebrations. She was a kindergarten teacher for 30 years, and worked hard to preserve the stories of the Second World War for younger generations. Edith Shain passed away on Sunday, June 20th, at the age of 91. Although she will be missed, her life’s passion and dedication to Second World War veterans will forever grow. Her photograph will remain a symbol of joy and peace –an embrace by two complete strangers, bringing the world together.
As someone who works in the communications office, I do not get as many opportunities to interact with veterans as our interviewers do. My job is primarily to contact the media to promote the project, as well as the events at which the interviews take place. In addition, we work on pitches for non-event related coverage of important days in Second World War history. For example, on June 6th, the Toronto Sun ran a commemorative D-Day feature. Using our online archives, as well as some more personal interviews with participating Second World War veterans, the newspaper put together a two-page spread entirely about D-Day experiences. Through my eyes, the goals of The Memory Project are two-fold, the most obvious being to create a record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War as seen through the eyes of veterans. The second is not as prominent –to raise awareness of the events that took place during the Second World War in a way that does not glorify or condemn the actions taken. The article published by the Toronto Sun is a perfect example of what The Memory Project does. Ensuring that the public is aware of what happened during that decade is almost as important as our digital archive. We promote the events and battles of the Second World War in hopes that people will take that information and better understand our history; ultimately, to guarantee that the world understands why it is so important to value our freedom. Our online archive has been the center of attention for most of the media. I sincerely hope that our other goal is not forgotten and is embraced with just as much vigour.
Mr. Johnson It is one thing to learn to fly and fight from above, and quite another to be forced to run for your life. Robert Gordon Johnson, accomplished Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot, shared his experiences with The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War, telling a vivid tale of camaraderie, reconnaissance, and dog-fighting Japanese Zeros over Burma. However, the most memorable story was that of his 23 night survival in a jungle completely alone while being pursued by the Japanese Army. At the age of 92, Mr. Johnson remembers lucidly how he was forced to abandon his aircraft over top of Burma, crash-landing in a jungle controlled by Japanese soldiers. Determined not to become a prisoner of war, Johnson ran as fast as he could and hid in a crevasse surrounded by bushes. After having evaded the Japanese soldiers, Johnson set out to find an Allied base so that he could be returned to his squadron, but was caught in the middle of a battle when Indian soldiers fired on him –ultimately mistaking him for the enemy! After three days of traveling with some of the locals, he was finally able to reach the Allied lines. Andrew Theobald, Research and Collections Officer with The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War and interviewer of Mr. Johnson, described this experience as one of the most memorable stories told during his time with The Memory Project. In fact, Mr. Johnson was so passionate about his stories that the complete interview took over an hour to record. However, his experience itself requires some reflection. It almost reads like a bed-time story: it begins with a young man who loved to fly; suddenly something goes wrong and he is stranded; he defeats all odds and returns safely to his own unit. At the same time, you listen to the inflections in Mr. Johnson’s voice and his experience becomes a dramatic reality. With a quiet yet powerful speech, he was able to convey the obstacles of getting home. However, as Mr Johnson points out at the end of his interview, these happy endings were not always the case. He was lucky, and he was smart. Can any of us really imagine being stuck in the middle of a jungle, with little food or water and sent to survive with only a 500 feet head start from a merciless enemy? What is truly astounding is that there are people such as Mr. Johnson who survived these types of experiences and simply shoved them aside as part of the war. As he mentions, he didn’t mind shooting at the Japanese, because they treated Allied men with such cruelty that it was unbearable. People were tortured and murdered. As mentioned above, it was not always a happy ending. When he returned he was asked to go on a tour to tell his story and explain how to survive in the jungle, continuing to serve in a unit that taught escape, evasion, and camouflage skills. Whereas most would be determined to leave the military for good, Mr. Johnson chose to continue to serve his country in the air force until 1949 –proud of his service and of his survival.
During the era of the Internet and new methods of communication, I am always surprised by the importance written correspondence held during the Second World War. Letters, cards and telegrams allowed soldiers and their families to stay in touch and to mentally survive the war. These letters provided information both ways. We can only imagine the impatience with which the servicemen or servicewomen and their families awaited the distribution of their mail. Most families also received an ''official'' portait of their son, daughter, brother, sister or spouse who had joined the Military. The messages had to remain very neutral, and it was prohibited to disclose the names of places or operations. This written correspondence has now become an essential material testimony that helps us to better understand this period in time. Telegram ordering Catherine Anderson to report for duty, October 20, 1944.