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Veterans with a Vision
Canada's War Blinded in Peace and War
Serge Marc Durflinger (Author)
9780774818568
Paperback / softback, published 22 March 2010
464 pages, Printed in Clear Type, 54 b&w photos
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.5 cm, 0.92 kg
Veterans with a Vision is a must read for historians interested in the social impact of war on Canadian society. It is well written, thoroughly researched, soundly organized, and poignantly relevant as Canada prepares to rehabilitate a new generation of veterans in the post-Afghanistan era. Durflinger successfully illustrates the important contributions made by war blinded veterans to the creation of national institutions and celebrates the men who achieved personal success in spite of their disability. In spite of minor reservations, Veterans with a Vision makes important contributions to the field of veterans' studies, the development of the Canadian state, and will be a useful work for scholars of twentieth century Canada.
History has told us something about our war dead but very little about our war wounded. Veterans with a Vision provides a vibrant, poignant, and very human history of Canada's war-blinded veterans, whose courage and the organization they created reshaped the way Canadians and successive governments perceived war disability and, in particular, blindness. Serge Durflinger illuminates the lives of the war blinded by detailing the veterans' process of civil re-establishment, physical and psychological rehabilitation, and social and personal coping. He describes how, in 1922, a group of veterans formed the Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded (SAPA), closely linked to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). This organization effectively advocated for government pension entitlements, job retraining, and other social programs that allowed veterans to regain a strong measure of independence. Veterans with a Vision captures the spirit of perseverance that permeated the veterans' community and highlights the impacts made by the war blinded as advocates for all Canadian veterans and all blind citizens.
Preface Introduction 1 Canada's First War Blinded, 1899-1918 2 The Sir Arthur Pearson Club of War Blinded Soldiers and Sailors, 1919-29 3 The Years of Struggle, 1930-39 4 Rehabilitating the Blinded Casualties of the Second World War, 1939-50 5 Older and Wiser: Canada's War Blinded in the Aftermath of War, 1945-70 6 Twilight, 1971-2002 Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index