Last Salute

 Last Salute is a 2016 work by Emily Otterman, depicting Canadian veterans paying their respects to fallen comrades in the Netherlands.

Dennis LeBlanc joined the Canadian military in the 1990s and would see war in Afghanistan. Both of his grandfathers fought in World War Two, and conversations with his paternal grandfather would come up about that war when the young man joined up.

This is the scrapbook of Jeanne Caron, a nurse during the war. She and her husband didn't discuss their war experiences, but she was encouraged by her family to tell her story.

The quote above is by Frank Moritsugu, seen in the bottom photograph below. At top, a woman I met several times at Remembrance Day in the Museum. Joan Voller was in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service; her husband was a Navy man. Her uniform is still on display in the permanent collection, and I remember her speaking with bright vitality about her war memories.

Old photos and more recent close out this exhibit, rotating in turn.