We’ve all heard the saying, “All is fair in love and war.”
Whoever came up with the phrase had a severely flawed moral compass – or they were simply witnessing the injustice that occurs and is often accepted during wars.
Sometimes, it’s up to individuals to take a stand and make choices that align with their own moral values, even when it means going directly against popular opinions and the wishes of those in power.
Taking a Moral Stand
Taking an unpopular stand was the scenario many American citizens were faced with when Great Britain and Canada decided to enter battle and fight the Nazis in WW2.
Canadians were among the first to join with the Allies, entering the war against Hitler on September 10, 1939.
At the time, the US government remained “neutral” on the “conflict.”
Their neutrality continued until Americans were directly affected – during the attack on Pearl Harbour nearly three years later.
But for those intervening three years, for many Americans, their government’s choice to look the other way wasn’t good enough.
At least 12,000 Americans couldn’t stand by and watch a genocide happen.
These Americans went against the direct wishes of their government, even giving up their citizenship, in some cases, to be on the right side of history.
“They knew Hitler was coming,” Karl Kjarsgaard of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada told Global News. “They just wanted to be here and stop tyranny.”
These (mostly) young men moved North, joining up with the Canadian military to fight for what they felt was right.
The volunteer’s actions were heroic, and they, more often than not, met violent ends. Their heroism remains one of the least documented in WW2 history.
“Amongst all these Canadian lads killed in World War Two, there were Americans from New Hampshire, Americans from Texas, Americans from California,” Kjarsgaard explains.
“They are not welcome in American veterans organizations, so their families don’t get the recognition, their families don’t get to tell their stories.”
Canadians Migrate South to Help
Some Canadians faced a similar problem during the American Civil War.
The bloody war between the States was fought partly for financial reasons and partly over the abolishment of slavery.
British-American powers declared themselves neutral in the scenario (with many officials even encouraging tensions on both sides as they believed a divided America would benefit British interests.)
Despite this, many at the time “British-American” settlers living in present-day Canada decided they had to do what they felt was right, and tens of thousands joined the Union (anti-slavery) cause in the North.
These soldiers were also forgotten until historian John Boyko wrote his 2013 book Blood and Daring on the Canadian impact on the American Civil War.
“We owe it to ourselves to understand the Civil War – to heed its whispering ghosts.”
So, this Remembrance Day, we’ll remember not just those veterans who went to action when they were called to but those who fought for others when even they were pressured not to.
War is far from fair. The powers that be don’t always stand on the right side of history.
It’s up to all of us to remember that.
