Week 21: Military

 MILITARY

The military has had minimal impact of my ancestors - even during the two World Wars.  The men were either not at the right age or were exempt because of religious beliefs or being farmers contributed to the war efforts by continuing to tend their farms.  

Several of my aunts did marry World War II vets, but only one blood uncle served in World War II.  My uncle Ab was the older brother of my father.  They were the oldest of 10 children and grew up relatively close.  As a young man, Ab left the family farm to work in Toronto and my father stayed to continue working on the family farm.  

I knew that Uncle Ab did serve in World War II, but never knew the circumstances until the time of his death in 2011.  When Ab was first drafted, his employer got him an exception as the factory was contributing to the war effort.  His employer was prepared to get another exception when Ab was drafted a second time.  But Ab turned down his employer's offer on the belief that if he did military service, his brother Jack (my father) would be allowed to stay working the family farm.

Ab was born with a deformed ear and was deaf in that ear, so he was not sure if he would even pass the medical.  He did.  The military's response to the hearing impairment was to shoot from the other side.  Ab did serve in Europe and returned home to live a normal life in Toronto.  He outlived most of his siblings.  In later years, one day he had to go Emergency.  When asked when he had last seen a doctor, his response was 60 years early in the military.  


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