Читать книгу War Brides - Melynda Jarratt - Страница 9

Foreword

In the fall of 1990, I was preparing to depart for basic training for the United States Armed Forces. My family had gathered for a farewell dinner in Fredericton and to offer their best wishes before seeing me off for the next six months. The women of my family, including my grandmother, Jean (Keegan) Paul, a British War Bride from Couldson, Surrey – whose story is the first in this book – were gathered in the kitchen telling stories in Maliseet about the brave men they knew from the Tobique Reserve who left for military service during the Second World War. Some they spoke of fondly, others posthumously, and in the rare occasion, jokingly.

“Will nee he come home again?” my grandmother asked. Unsure if this was misplaced Maliseet I turned to my mother who was smiling at me nodding her head. She repeated my grandmother’s words. Totally confused, they offered me this story of a soldier preparing to leave for basic military training during the Second World War. “Will nee he come home again” was the tale of a man who missed his community so much that he returned only a few weeks after initially departing. After much embarrassment from people within the small community and realizing the importance of his pledge to defend his country and the well-being of his family and loved ones, he again packed his bags and left for what turned out to be a distinguished military career.

I believe the moral of my grandmother’s story is about commitment to your country and your loved ones. Without doubt, the courageous women who left their families and homes for the ones they loved, epitomizes the moral of her story and an important part of our Canadian history. Melynda Jarratt’s writings capture the essence of the many stories retold to her about why these women chose to follow love and begin a new chapter in their lives in Canada.

The Honourable T.J. Burke, Q.C.

Attorney General and Minister of Justice

Province of New Brunswick