Three men, three different generations, and multiple deployments.
With Remembrance Day now here, Allan Harrison, Don Ward and Eugene McKinnon reflect on their military experiences overseas in times of turmoil and their endless gratitude for the generations before and after them that saw active combat duty.
All three men are also Steel Spirit artists, all with distinct artistic styles that have each been influenced by their experiences over time. The Steel Spirit is a platform for artwork submissions by military, first responder and hospital practitioners.
Afghanistan (2007 and 2008)
Allan Harrison was a medical technician who deployed to Afghanistan in 2007.
“Deployments bring people together in ways no other experience can," says Harrison. "You bond and learn to work together as a team. During the deployment you put that training to work in real tactical situations and create experiences that will shape the tiny part of the world you touch directly and the person you will become for the rest of your life.”
As a medic deployed overseas, Harrison felt privileged to work with many excellent, committed people. There was camaraderie, professionalism, and hard work in extreme conditions that went beyond the mission.
Like many military personnel, friendships remain long after the experience that brought them together. They shared life-changing moments. They also shared that feeling of missing their loved ones left behind while deployed.
Harrison began his love of sculpting in high school. Later, at the University of Guelph, he took courses under Canadian sculptor John Fillion. There he learned more about the technical execution of carving and casting clay and stone.
During this time, his mentor impressed upon him the integrity of making artwork that is personally meaningful. Fillion and Harrison remained close friends after he graduated university up until Fillion's death two years ago.
“He was the most important friend and mentor in my life," said Harrison.
During the 17 years Harrison served in the military, he never lost his awareness of the necessity of self-sacrifice for the good of others.
“My generation of medics have had the benefit of the latest military battlefield medical research and development from the U.S. and Canada coming out of the modern tactical experience in the Middle East,” said Harrison.
As a result of this training and experience, Canadian medics have become recognized internationally as some of the best in the world.
His art begins with raw materials.
“I see a piece of stone, bone, antler or wood and that particular object inspires a theme or image,” he explains.
Many of Harrison's sculptures take on the theme of ancient Viking or warrior stories. He enjoys researching the stories of these ancient legends and mythologies and how it can relate to his own personal experiences of sacrifice, loss, grief and what is accomplished through those sacrifices.
His first art submission to The Steel Spirit was a wooden carving of Odin — Wounded Warrior 1. The wood was carved from a piece of a 200-year-old oak tree that was cut down to make way for a high power hydro line. Oak is known for its strength and that strength is an important theme in the stories of Odin’s life of self-sacrifice for the sake of gaining wisdom.
Harrison’s favourite sculpture is a collaborative piece titled Sacrifice. Begun by his late wife, Jane Estelle Trombley, Harrison posthumously completed the piece. He reviewed her sketchbook notes and reflected on their discussions about the piece prior to her death. It is an integration of bone, stone, and wood elements. He also added a dried red rose to the sculpture which he preserved from one of the funeral flower arrangements at her interment ceremony.
When asked about his concerns for younger generations in the military and advice he would give them, he offers a heartfelt response: “Put everything you’ve got into whatever task you are doing. Then when it’s done, put that same effort into your personal life outside of the CAF," Harrison urged.
"Develop self awareness and critical thinking to know when you need to step away from the unending work in front of you and take care of yourself, because no one else is going to do that for you and if you can’t find that balance, you’re not going to be able to effectively serve for very long. Lean on your peers, communicate honestly and be there for them to lean on too," he said.
Harrison is currently posted at Canadian Forces Base Borden working at the Health Services Training Centre.
Cyprus and West Germany (1970s and 1980s)
Don Ward was a line driver, doing patrols and working on the observation posts during his deployment to Cyprus at the age of 21 in 1978. He later returned again to Cyprus in 1989.
“We experienced a lot of civilian riots, where we were deployed in the Buffer Zone between rioters and Turkish forces,” said Ward, who also was deployed to West Germany, serving on the Leopard tanks as an operator/loader and crew commander.
Now at 63, when Ward speaks about his military experience, he is proud to say that many of the men and women he deployed with are still his greatest friends to this day.
During his deployments he never failed to visit the memorials and graves of Canadian war dead.
“The generations before me, both military and civilian, sacrificed so much for our freedom.” Through his artwork, Don hopes to spread the message that today’s generations ‘must never forget,'" said Ward.
Ward enjoyed doing artwork as a child, but this hobby has now become his full-time focus since his retirement from the military. His first watercolour submission to The Steel Spirit was a picture of his father revisiting Juno Beach in the 1980s – decades after seeing combat there during the Second World War.
It was an intensely emotional moment for his father the day he stepped foot on that beach. His father sensed the presence of dead friends around him; he also had the feeling that there was an angel behind him, watching over and protecting him.
During the reception for The Steel Spirit gallery event in 2017, Ward was approached about doing artwork for Peacekeeper’s Park in Angus. Since then, he has went on to paint more than 200 individual portraits of fallen Canadian soldiers.
Painting fallen soldiers has, over time, become Ward's primary focus of his art. He is passionate about not just painting the faces of those lost but also including details about the individuals as well. The portraits and accompanying details of these individuals bring their memories alive, which Ward feels is a fitting tribute to their self-sacrifice.
Ward's favourite painting is usually the latest portrait he has completed. One of his most recent paintings is of Theodore Bates, a gentleman who crashed into Lake Muskoka in 1940. Interestingly enough, Theodore’s body was only recently found in 2013, 72 years after he had passed away.
When Ward is asked about any concerns he has for younger generations in the military and any advice he would give, he remains passionate that younger generations must not forget the sacrifices of our veterans. “One ‘thank you’ to a veteran can turn a cloudy day into bright sunshine. Wear a poppy…we can never forget.”
Second World War (1939 to 1945)
Eugene McKinnon was born in Nova Scotia in 1922. He enlisted with the military at age seventeen, along with his three brothers. His first few years in the military involved training on the home front, at CFB Borden. Eventually he went with the Perth Regiment to England for more intense training, then they set off to Italy to begin fighting on the front lines.
Upon reflection of his active combat duty in the theatres of the Second World War, McKinnon recalls many instances in which he was the only one among his fellow troops who survived. He became known as ‘the guy to stick with’ as he would sometimes do the opposite of what was ordered, and survive while others were killed.
In one incident, a brash, young, know-it-all captain was giving the orders. During one manoeuvre, he ordered the men to take the cross roads up ahead. McKinnon felt this would be an instant enemy trap. The captain nonetheless led the way to the crossroads and was shot almost immediately.
McKinnon and his crew fought to grab the injured captain, but never knew if he had survived or not. In another instance, McKinnon fell asleep hidden away in the back trenches that were taken over by the Germans. Another time he jumped off a road into a ravine, while all those on the road were killed. In many instances, McKinnon did the opposite of what others did, and survived.
Prior to the war McKinnon's younger sister drowned. To this day, McKinnon believes that it was his sister's voice that he heard guiding him through the war. As so many men perished around him, the newer crews of men began to trust his sense of direction in combat scenarios, and stuck with him.
McKinnon knows that his generation in the military had a vastly different experience than those in today’s armed forces. They slept in mud, dirt, and snow. They had a little cooking pot and rice, or a small tin of chocolate. Sometimes they even ate rats.
Food would be sent up to the front lines, then after two or three weeks the troops would go to the back and another team would come to the front. As he said, it’s not like today where they do drone attacks or fly in with all-weather gear. The troops back then only had a cotton uniform and a warmer coat for the winter.
During the Second World War, it was a huge learning curve. It was all ‘hands on’ back then, unlike today where people can hide behind technology. “You were fighting the enemy that you saw,” he said.
McKinnon loved doing artwork prior to his overseas deployment in the war. His fondest memories involved spending time with his brothers, hunting and trapping on the East Coast. It was of those memories that he would sketch pictures. These were his happiest memories.
McKinnon didn’t do any artwork during the years of war.
After McKinnon returned home from the war he got a job working on a tug boat along the St. Lawrence. He decided to paint a mural of a tiger on his bunk bed on the tug boat. He said this was his favourite painting. From then on, his love of artwork returned.
For McKinnon, his artwork over the years has developed mostly into landscapes. The landscapes continue to bring him back to a time away from war – a peaceful time in nature that he had always enjoyed focusing on. It is nothing to do with war and yet everything to do with his experiences that led him in this creative direction.
At 99 years old, McKinnon continues to paint today. He has been involved with The Steel Spirit for over a year now. In 2020 he painted landscape pictures at his local Legion to keep busy during the pandemic. In 2021 he painted murals of landscapes at the back of his house. He has joined other Steel Spirit artists online for socials, and enjoys sharing his latest artwork with other fellow military and first-responder artists.
When asked what his concerns are for younger generations in the military and what advice he would give, his simple answer is only two words: “Stay alive.”
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ABOUT THE STEEL SPIRIT
Barbara Brown founded The Steel Spirit in 2017 when her husband went overseas for a year as a war crimes investigator. She has since built a growing platform for military and first-responders to share their artwork and their stories with the community.
“Since starting The Steel Spirit, I have immensely enjoyed seeing all of the creative varieties of artwork that have been displayed over the years, in galleries and online," said Brown.
"Art mediums have ranged from painting, photography, metalwork, poetry, stained glass, leather-work and more. We've had submissions from 20-year-olds to 98- and 99-year-old Second World War veterans," explained Brown.
"Often this artwork that spans all generations reflects a certain thread of optimism that pulls each personal story through time. It is this undertone of strength, perspective and reflection that creates the foundation of these individual stories which many others in the services can relate to,” said Brown
The Steel Spirit is a platform for artwork submissions by military, first responder and hospital practitioners. They are always looking for new and emerging artists with and without experience, from every background and every age.
For more information or if you would like to be involved, visit www.thesteelspirit.ca
