I have a deep respect and admiration for anyone who makes the choice to enlist themselves into military service and serve their homeland.
That's because, if I'm going to be completely honest here, I could never see myself in that role. I'm not physically fit for such a demanding role, but more than that, I just don't think I could mentally or emotionally prepare myself for such an arduous task of putting on the uniform and representing my country, especially when those times come when you're actually called into combat.
I have to imagine that many of you reading this might feel the same way.
Hey, some of us are just built different than others. While some of us stay away from those kind of positions, others will run toward them.
And while I certainly know of local veterans from the area who saw combat, I'm proud to say that I actually grew up with a number of people who've served their country.
Alex Li is one of my best friends, and he lives just up in Saskatoon with his wife and young family. I've known the guy for close to 25 years, and I can still remember when he told the rest of us that he'd made the decision to enlist and serve his country. Kyle, Chris and I were taken aback, but we also weren't entirely shocked, either. Alex has always been a guy who finds the right path for himself to be on, and so, he enlisted with the Canadian Forces, serving as a Signal Operator, and he actually saw action over in Afghanistan.
He also saw some shrapnel that wound up in his leg. It's never left my mind over the years that if things had gone even more wrong and more serious, I very well could've had a best friend who died "over there".
More friends have served, as well. Cory McCutcheon from my old Conquest days and Cathan Perry from Macrorie are also decorated veterans. In fact, Cathan did a wonderful talk last Remembrance Day over at the Outlook museum that I believe opened a lot of eyes and spoke a lot of unfiltered truth about what soldiers go through.
Of course, one interview that I'll always remember throughout the course of my career will be the Friday afternoon I spent with Art Knutson down at his home in Elbow. In May of 2013, I drove down to the lakeside village to spend some time with Art, learning all I could about his time spent as a tail gunner for the Royal Canadian Air Force's 434 Bluenose Squadron during World War II. I was eager to learn of his story and hear his thoughts as a living veteran.
Art welcomed me into his home and we sat down in his living room with coffee. It was maybe 60 seconds after the usual introductions and pleasantries that he came out with the following statement:
“You know, I suppose there were four different times over there that I should’ve been killed.”
That's not exactly a sentence you hear someone say every day like that, is it? I can just remember the cold feeling my spine got and I could sense my jaw starting to gape open. I'm probably lucky that I didn't drop my cup of coffee on Art's living room carpet. With that sentence alone, Knutson had me locked in with his story, and throughout that May afternoon, I was receptive and appreciative of how open he was with me, detailing his time spent overseas while serving his home country at a time of great conflict within our society.
Art died in 2017, and I was so sorry to hear of his passing.
Another person who has passed away was the late Bud Hardy, who actually died in combat and whose death opened eyes and put perhaps a cold spotlight on the current conflict going on right now between the Ukraine and Russia. You may have read a week or so ago about his story as I interviewed Bud's brother Will, who lives here in Outlook. Bud, real name Winton, found a way to get "over there" and served to the best of his ability.
In interviewing his younger brother Will just in the backyard outside of his home, I found myself with some of the same emotions I had when I interviewed Art more than 11 years ago. I was gripped in hearing Bud's story; learning about his life and who he was as a person before making the decision to enlist, and gaining insight into how that affected the Hardy family over time.
The family is struggling right now, both emotionally from the terrible loss of Bud as well as financially, as they don't have the means to hopefully bring his belongings back home and hold a proper service. There's a GoFundMe campaign over at gofundme.com/f/bud-hardy if you're interested in contributing.
I've conducted many interviews with veterans and affected families over the years, and I think it comes down to just one blaring, inescapable truth: War is Hell.
For this week, that's been the Ruttle Report.
