They were rejected by recruiters during WWI.
They fought to fight for a country that thought they were less than equal.

They prevailed.
They were called our best kept military secret.

Remember their rejection, their fight.
Remember No. 2 Construction Battalion.

They are Us.
At 58, he joined the Nova Scotia Rifles during WWI.

At Vimy Ridge, he forced the surrender of an enemy position.

They denied his medal of valour.
60 years after his death, his family finally received the medal.

Remember the denial, his courage.

Private Jeremiah Jones is Us.
He left Virginia to study religion in Canada.
He stood with the Black Battalion during WWI.

Duty. Sacrifice. Heroism.
He thought it would improve the lot of blacks at home.

But they returned to face the same discrimination.
Do not forget.

Rev. Capt. Dr. William White is Us.
Their father served with No. 2 Construction Battalion.
Still, they had to fight to fight in WWII.

They persevered.

Flight Sergeant Adolphus
Leading Aircraftman Clyde
Aircraftman (Second Class) Donald
Flight Lieutenant Gerald
Flight Sergeant William

The Carty Brothers are Us.
His father, his brothers had to overcome the system to fight for their own country.

Flight Lieutenant Gerald Carty had to persevere to risk his life for Canada.

Never forget.
He left Barbados to answer the call.

He was ready, but they said it wasn't his time.
He was ready, but they said it wasn't safe for him in the Pacific.
He re-trained, but the war ended.

He said there wasn't overt racism.
But there was racism.

Flying Officer Owen Rowe is Us.
From a laundry in Harlem to the Air Force in Canada.

He reported their racism, but they turned a blind eye.
He overcame their blind eyes.

Member of Parliament
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Leader. Gentleman.

Lincoln Alexander is Us.
She, too, served.
She, too, marched.
She, too, folded arms.

She, too, sang.
But they didn't allow her to sing in their chorus.

Remember her folded arms, her song.

Private Eva May Roy is Us.
It's World War II.
You're willing to risk everything for your country.

“No, sorry, we don’t take you people.”

How would you feel? What would you do?
He kept going back for months until he found an ally.

War veteran. Lawyer. Politician.

Leonard Braithwaite is Us.
In 1942, he was conscripted into the Canadian Army.

He was bothered that Canada was fighting for democracy, but not treating all Canadians equally, even those it pressed into uniform.

But he served, returned, and devoted his life to fighting racism.

Stanley Grizzle is Us.
He returned to a Canada where a gas station owner refused to serve him because he was black and called the police.

Police: "OK, boys, move along."

Stanley Grizzle: "We're not boys, we're men."

Remember Stanley staring down the cold face of racism.
cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
The abused.
The insulted.
The slighted.
The dismissed.
The disregarded.

The Determined.

Remember them, then and now.
Hold them high. Be their ally.

They are Us.
📸: @kathylvorg

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More from @CAFinUS

Feb 18
During the Berlin Airlift, he flew food and supplies to millions. When he gave gum to German children and saw their excitement, he promised to bring more.

"Uncle Wiggly Wings" made tiny parachutes out of handkerchiefs to drop candy to the children.

Rest easy, Gail Halvorsen. Image
They used 250,000 tiny parachutes and dropped more than 23 tonnes of candy and chocolate. One Berliner told him how important it was.

"It wasn't chocolate. It was hope." Image
The Germans never forgot the Berlin Candy Bomber.

They named schools after him. They gave him the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Image
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Feb 13
What should you do if you're caught in a storm?
Blocks cut from the snow, angled, and laid next to each other. Image
Trimmed to lean on and support their neighbors, they spiral together, upward and inward. Image
Read 6 tweets
Jan 25
Buried alive by an enemy shell, his brothers dug him out. A man standing beside him was killed by a sniper. Italy. Holland. Germany.

He wanted 100 cards for his 100th birthday and got more than 100,000. For his 101st, he asked you to get vaccinated.

Rest easy, Fred Arsenault.
In the trenches in the middle of the night, letters from his mother offered comfort, helped him through.

In his final years, your words kept him company.

Thank you.
We won’t forget, Fred.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 17
He left a laundry in Harlem to join the Air Force in Canada. He reported the racism, but they turned a blind eye. He overcame their blind eyes.
 
Member of Parliament. Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
 
We see you, Lincoln Alexander. Image
While Lincoln was stationed in Vancouver, a bartender refused to serve him because he was Black. Lincoln reported it to an Air Force officer.

The officer did nothing. Image
“[Harlem] stiffened my resolve to be more than a porter. Black was everywhere, and it was important for me to see that. Blacks were fully represented, and that was a stark difference from the limited career opportunities I had come to expect in Canada.”

See Lincoln Alexander. Image
Read 4 tweets
Jan 9
The Saskatchewanian son of Norwegian immigrants, he signed up and found himself training in Montana with the First Special Service Force.

A few months later, Austin Ole Gunderson submitted this request to marry Marabeth Edna Blake.
They marry in December 1942 and Austin updates his papers. Wife over mother.

He continues training with his American and Canadian brothers before heading off for Europe.

When he leaves, Betty is expecting.
Read 7 tweets
Jan 4
Germany, 1945. The Nazis ordered him to identify the Jews among the 1,275 American prisoners. The next morning, 1,275 stood together.

The Nazis were enraged. “You are to identify the Jews immediately.”

Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds:

“We are all Jews here.”
The commandant of the camp: “I'll give you one more chance. Have the Jewish men step forward or I will shoot you on the spot.”

Master Sergeant Edmonds: "If you shoot, you'll have to shoot us all. We are all Jews.”
The Jewish soldiers survived. More than 200 of the 1,275 Americans.

Their Master Sergeant survived. For the rest of his life, he never talked about the moment he stared calmly into the face of evil.

We see you, Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Read 5 tweets

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