Ontario man tells the stories of Canadian soldiers who never returned home

Bruce McIntyre,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An Ontario man was recently honoured with the prestigious Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.

Kurt Johnson received the award which is given to exceptional veterans or individuals who have contributed in an exemplary manner to the care and well-being of veterans and/or to the remembrance of the contributions, sacrifices and achievements of veterans.

When he opened his letter informing him of his award, he was both thrilled and humbled.

“It really came out of left field and something I had ever expected,” Mr. Johnson told the Leader. “I opened the envelope and read the text and I realized I was going to Ottawa to meet with the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs. I was going to receive an award for various projects that I absolutely loved being involved with over the last decade.”

The most recent project he undertook, Faces-To-Graves, and one that he is most proud of, is a Canadian-Dutch partnership that tells the life stories of Canadian soldiers who died during World War II and never returned home. He started the project in 2020 and it has been ongoing ever since. The project is 160 life stories of Canadian soldiers and they are written by Grade 10 students at All Saints High School in Kanata.

“I edited and researched the 160 life stories written by 273 students and three teachers for Faces-To-Graves Foundation at the Groesbeek War Cemetery in the Netherlands,” he said. “There are 2,338 Canadian soldiers buried there and we have set out to tell their stories so they are never forgotten. Most importantly, we have the students doing the research and writing.

“Throughout the process they not only learn the history of these young men, but they come to understand what it was like for a 17 or 18-year-old kid from Canada marching off to war. The students telling these stories are close to the same age as the soldiers in 1939.”

The award he received from Ginette Petitpas Taylor, the Minister of Veteran Affairs, not only recognized his work for the Faces-To-Graves project, but the medal was in recognition of his 10 years in researching and writing about Canadian veterans who died in both World Wars. Mr. Johnson’s research has involved extensive work with the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery and he has worked with six Anglican churches in Renfrew County.

Editing and writing came natural for Mr. Johnson who recently moved from Burnstown to Renfrew. He spent several years working in the Ottawa Citizen newsroom and retired from his editorial position in 2010. He knew he wanted to volunteer, but he also knew he wanted to put his energies somewhere where his natural skill-set would be used.

He started volunteering at the Goulbourn Museum in Stittsville and shortly into his tenure the Government of Canada announced a major celebration for the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

“I have to admit I have a pretty good knowledge of Canadian history, but when I dove into researching the history of the 100th Regiment of Foot that arrived in Canada from Ireland in 1805, I was amazed at how much I did not know about that conflict,” he said. “During the War of 1812, the 100th Regiment played a critical role in defending Canada participating in actions in both Upper and Lower Canada, which included the area south of Ottawa down to the St. Lawrence River.”

He began writing life stories of soldiers in 2014 when he researched the life stories of 24 soldiers for the Holten and Groesbeek Canadian War Cemeteries in The Netherlands.

“One of the most rewarding things I learned is that several families adopted the grave of Canadian soldiers a few months after the war ended in 1945,” he said. “Even though Europe was in total chaos and everyone suffered one way or another, the Dutch made it a point to pay tribute to the Canadians who died while driving the Nazis out of their country.

“Several generations of families would tend to the graves, make sure the grass was free of weeds and place fresh flowers on the graves of thousands of young Canadians who didn’t come home. It is such a unique cultural tradition and the Dutch are still thankful to this day for their sacrifice.”

Mr. Johnson has attended different Anglican churches over the years and has been involved in several church activities. He attended several Remembrance Day ceremonies at his local church and he always wondered to himself who those young soldiers were and where they came from.

“I wanted to know more than just the names on a memorial inside the church,” he said. “So I got in contact with six Anglican churches in Renfrew County and set out to write 86 life stories of those young men who died in World War I and World War II. I also presented these stories to the six congregations at Remembrance Day and for the people in attendance, they learned the stories of the names of the men on their respective Honour Rolls.”

However, his most recent work with the Faces-To-Graves project is one that is near and dear to his heart.

“Working with the kids and seeing the pride they have in their research is hard to describe,” he said. “The students often refer to the soldier they are researching as “my soldier.” They are almost protective of the soldiers they come to know on a personal basis and that is something that really can’t be taught in a typical history class.”

It was not the first time he was recognized for this project. In 2022, Ines Coppoolse, Ambassador for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ottawa, presented him with a commemorative coin and certificate from the Faces-To-Graves Foundation at Groesbeek for working with the students on the project.

When he received his award two weeks ago in Ottawa, he dedicated his volunteer efforts to the more than 6,000 Canadian soldiers who are buried in 199 Dutch cemeteries.

“Those young men never returned home and when the students realize just how young many of them were, it really drives home the tragedy of war and the loss of life at such a young age,” he said. “I am so humbled and honoured to have received this award and I plan to continue to volunteer to tell more stories of Canadian soldiers who ventured overseas in the name of freedom.”

Bruce McIntyre,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Eganville Leader