Cross-Border Warriors: Canadians in American Forces, Americans in Canadian Forces: From the Civil War to the Gulf

By Fred Gaffen

Book Overview

For well of a hundred years, Canadians and Americans have crossed the border that separates their two countries to serve in one another's armed forces. The American Civil War, the two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War - Cross-Border Warriors presents anecdotes, letters, and diaries by or about individuals who left family and native land to engage in these far-away struggles. There was Emma Edmonds, a woman from New Brunswick who disguised herself as a man and served as a field nurse and spy for the Yankees during the civil war; American Lucien Thomas, who flew 400 combat missions in WW II and Korea; Fred Demara, "The Great Impostor," who used his surgical skills on unsuspecting patients ... More than ninety photos, together with Fred Gaffen's analysis of this cross-border phenomenon, complement the soldiers' words.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550022253
• ISBN13: 9781550022254
• Release Date: July 1996
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

A rich ethnography combined with useful history

Canadian military historian Fred Gaffen's book Cross Border Warriors attempts to fill in the gaps in Canadian and American military history. He shares detailed anecdotes of the Americans who fought in the Royal Canadian Forces and the Canadians who fought for the American military, while grounding their stories deep in a macro-historical analysis of the conflicts and cooperation between the two nations. He recognizes both the strong anti-American sentiment in Canada and the occasional fear of Americans that Canada was about to attack the U.S. Ultimately, he wants to tell the stories of the 60,000 American and Canadian citizens who served in each other's armed forces since 1812.Gaffen begins with the American Civil War, which is commonly thought of as an American only conflict, but it had a definite impact on Canada as well, not only because many Canadians served in the American Union and Confederate armies, but because the civil war was the backdrop for Canadian confederation. As skeptical as Canada's founding fathers were of the civil unrest in the United States, many Canadians "with a taste for adventure " enlisted in the American forces both North and South. Many Canadians also fell prey to crimpers from the States who enticed them under false pretenses or even drugs and alcohol to join the war in the States, usually taking the place of someone rich enough to buy his way out of service. Crimping occurred on both sides of the border, however, and in World War I before the U.S. joined the war, Americans were crimped into duty for the Canadians. The American Foreign Enlistment Act of 1818 was supposed to prevent such abuses in recruiting, and it was finally enforced and the crimping came to a halt. Canada joined WWI in 1914, two and a half years before the U.S., and since the U.S. was officially neutral, it could not compel or explicitly let its men fight for the Canadians. However, Canadian minister of defense Sam Hughes assembled a brigade of Americans living in Canada to fight overseas, and then when America joined the war, an agreement was reached that Canada, the U.S., and Britain could all draft each other's citizens into any of their armed forces. Many Americans chose to join the British Air Force for the chance to fly. It is interesting to note that despite this seemingly open cooperation and trust between the two countries during WWI, the U.S. and Canada both had contingency plans in case of attack or invasion by the other or by Britain before World War II. When Canada entered WWII, many Americans crossed the border to join the Canadian Air Force Special Reserve, which they could do without losing their citizenship. They would take an oath of obedience to the Canadian army, but not an oath of allegiance, and therefore retain their American citizenship. However, when the U.S. entered the war in 1941, many Americans returned to the U.S. forces because of national pride and better compensation. Canada also had the Clayton Kni

Revealing and Inspiring! Shows our best!

Gaffen shows our guys serving in each other's armed forces from the War of Northern Agression, through the World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf.Gaffen begins each section with a history of the conflict.The first part brings to us the lives of Canadians who served in the Federal Army, including several Medal of Honour winners, and details how Canada was a tacit ally of the Confederate States of America. This part also tells the stories of several Americans who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during 1914-1918, including author Raymond Chandler and several Victoria Cross winners. The 1939-45 section begins with Americans in the RAF and RCAF, and goes on to the accounts of several Americans and Canadians serving in each other's militaries, including the only member of the US Coast Guard to win the Medal of Honour. The Korea part is shorter, but does briefly mention one American from New Jersey who was KIA while serving with the Royal Canadian Regiment. The Vietnam chapter is patterned after Gaffen's previous book >, and includes two of Canada's greatest heros, Fidele Joseph Bastarache, and Michael John "Bat" Masterson. The Gulf section discusses two Canadians who served in the US military during that war. The appendices on Canadian Medal of Honour recipients (including some from the Indian Campaigns, the Spanish American War, The Mexican capaign against Pancho Villa and others in between), Canadian casualties of Vietnam, Medal of Honour recipients buried in Canada, and American recipients of the Victoria Cross are informative and inspiring.<p>The only thing Gaffen missed was the death of US Special Forces Sergeant Robert Deeks, killed by a landmine on 2, March 1993, while serving with the Canadian Airborne Regiment in Somalia. However, this can hardly be a fault or a flaw in the book, as Gaffen was probably doing the research or writing during that time frame.<p>This is a very heartwarming and inspiring book. In an era when Canadian politicians and wrestlers, and Canadian and American sports fans work very hard to foment enmity between our people, Gaffen's book reminds us that we have a lot more in common than a border and a language. Gaffen also shows he truly cares about the people of which he writes, expressing his personal support for the cause of Canadian Vietnam Veterans. Given that Gaffen works for the Government (the Canadian War Museum), this took guts.<p>A very informative and touching tome. I would make it required reading in high school history classes on both sides of the border.