Canada’s coastline is the world’s longest. Its landmass is second largest. And its territorial waters are massive. So you’d think ships and airplanes would be priorities in Ottawa, not only for defence but for sovereignty’s sake, from sea to sea to sea.
READ MORE
On the 100th anniversary, we revisit the Canadian triumph over the German army and explore why the battle has come to signify the birth of our nation.
READ MORE
Nations choose symbols, and Vimy is an important one for Canada. On the 100th anniversary, we revisit the Canadian victory over the Germans and explore why the battle is known as the birth of our nation. By Tim Cook
READ MORE
“Three more pilots lost today. All good men. Oh how I hate the Huns. They had done in so many of my best friends. I’ll make them pay, I swear.” – William Avery “Billy” Bishop.
READ MORE
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Legion Magazine, Canada’s Ultimate Story and William Shatner tell the story of this important First World War battle. Our victory at Vimy was a defining event for Canada. On the 100th anniversary, we revisit the Canadian triumph over the German army and explore why the battle has come to…
The Battle of Vimy Ridge in northern France, April 9-12, 1917, is considered one of the defining events in the history of Canada. Where Allied troops struggled and failed, the Canadians overcame great odds and eventually captured the ridge. In the course of the battle, nearly every tree in the once-forested area had been…
On Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, Canadian troops waited in the cold dawn, preparing for the assault on Vimy Ridge. Among them was Mike Mountain Horse, a Blood Tribe member from southern Alberta. He was there to avenge the death of his brother Albert, who had been gassed at Ypres and died at the age of…
There is perhaps no place in France where as many men have been killed to the square yard as on this sloping ground,” recounted Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Hayes of the 85th Battalion of the Vimy Ridge battlefield. The ridge in northeastern France was a crucial high point that offered a commanding view of the surrounding countryside….
Searching for mines, bombs and IEDs was Étienne Aubé’s specialty. Then a motherlode changed his life. Story and photography by Stephen J. Thorne Sergeant Étienne Aubé had a bad feeling about the compound he was standing in near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on July 16, 2009, so the 28-year-old field engineer from Drummondville, Que., ordered everyone... 
Canada’s coastline is the world’s longest. Its landmass is second largest. And its territorial waters are massive. According to the Geological Survey of Canada, the country’s coastline including bays, inlets, islands and the like, runs 243,000 kilometres—almost three times the world’s second-longest shore, Indonesia’s. Its landmass, including the world’s largest supply of freshwater, totals... André Girard’s recovery from a battlefield head wound defies all odds Story and photography by Stephen J. Thorne Corporal André Girard was shot in the head by a Chechen fighter in Afghanistan on Sept. 25, 2007, and he lived to tell the tale. Within the Royal 22nd Regiment, the Vandoos consider him a miracle... 
Recent events on and within the borders of Russia should quell lingering doubt, if any exists, around the wisdom of Canada contributing troops to European security. After 13 years fighting a war in Afghanistan, Canadian soldiers have come full circle, returning to the once-familiar climes of Europe to join efforts to discourage Moscow’s growing... 
As the Canadian Corps prepared for the attack on Vimy Ridge, it was assisted by I Brigade, Royal Flying Corps. Four squadrons of Corps (army co-operation) aircraft mapped the German defences and located enemy artillery batteries; by April 9, 1917, 180 of 212 hostile batteries had been pinpointed and their co-ordinates plotted on maps.... 
1 APRIL 1915 First Canadian Division is ordered to join defence of the Ypres Salient. 2 APRIL 1917 The Royal Flying Corps starts training at Camp Borden, Ont. 3 APRIL 1945 The First Canadian Army captures the German town of Zevenaar. 4 APRIL 1916 Canadians relieve exhausted British forces at St. Éloi. 5... 
Montrealer Gustave Biéler spent the Christmas of 1943 in France. It was likely to be his last. The Nazis had launched a manhunt for him and his comrades in the French Resistance. The spy, known only by his code name Guy, wrote a few lines on the back of a photograph and handed it... Blown up in Afghanistan, Andrew Knisley gained strength from two other severely injured comrades Story and photography by Stephen J. Thorne Andrew Knisley, a 24-year-old private in 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, was eating Frosted Flakes at a forward operating base an hour’s drive east of Kandahar when he heard about Billy Kerr. It... 
Bad for the military; not good enough for veterans. That about sums up defence-related elements of the federal budget tabled March 22 by Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Ottawa says it will spend $624 million more on veterans’ programs over the next five years, most of it on easing outgoing soldiers’ transitions to civilian life.... Mike Trauner and Leah Cuffe share the frustrations, pain and nightmares that linger from his wounds Story and photography by Stephen J. Thorne It was just a corridor, but it was probably the longest walk of 30-year-old Leah Cuffe’s life. Down that hospital hallway in Landstuhl, Germany, was a Canadian flag. And beside that... 
A new plaque was unveiled in St. John’s, N.L., in November by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, recognizing Thomas Nangle, the tireless padre of the Newfoundland Regiment, as a person of national historic significance. The unveiling took place in the Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander Anthony Paddon Building at Canadian Forces Station St. John’s... 
Hurry up and wait, goes the old military adage. Just ask the Canadian Rangers. The military ombudsman did. And in a second interim report on the challenges they face, Gary Walbourne says the 5,000 volunteers who form Canada’s first line of defence in the Arctic are waiting too long for compensation and reimbursement. Often... 
Stories, a wise person once wrote, help us to see through other peoples’ eyes, show us the consequences of our actions, create community, root us in place and let us fly through time. And teach us how to be human. That’s a pretty good description of the effect of the Canadian Museum for Human... 
