Filmmaker crossing Canada to speak with war veterans
‘This might be the last chance to get some of these stories off their chest’
Eric Brunt never asked SASKATOON his grandfather Clifford about his experiences in the Navy during the Second World War before he died, and that’s something he regrets.
But that regret pushed Brunt to embark on a journey across the country to make sure stories like his grandfather’s will not stay unheard.
“It’s kind of now or never, to capture the stories of these men and women who sacrificed what they had,” Brunt said. “My family missed out on our opportunity.”
Brunt, a documentary filmmaker from B.C., is travelling by himself to create a film featuring the firsthand accounts of Canada’s veterans from the Second World War. His trip started in Vancouver and took him through Saskatoon during the Canada Day weekend.
The hardest part of the trip has been finding veterans both willing and able to speak to him on camera, he said. Brunt said most surviving veterans are in their mid-90s, and some have told him stories they say they ’ve never shared with anyone.
“This might be the last chance to get some of these stories off their chest,” he said. “I’ve been honoured to be able to hear some of those things ... that’s really humbling.”
Brunt’s grandfather wasn’t the only family member involved in the Second World War. His greatuncle Peter Anaka from Yorkton was a trained pilot who fought in Europe.
Brunt never dreamt he’d meet someone who was a personal friend of his great-uncle.
Reg Harrison, a bomber pilot living in Saskatoon, went through flight school with Anaka. He showed Brunt a picture of himself standing with Anaka the day they earned their pilot wings.
“It was really amazing. I often wondered what had happened to Peter,” Harrison said. “It brought back an awful lot of memories for me, when we ... talked about my experiences, and how well I knew Peter.”
Harrison and Anaka never reconnected after the war, so the picture Harrison has is one of the last times they saw each other. Harrison said he had mixed feelings about speaking with Brunt, but said after their long conversation he saw the importance of what Brunt was doing, calling it a “great service to all those ... who never came back.”
Before reaching Saskatoon, Brunt had interviewed 77 veterans.
But Brunt said meeting Harrison and finding the connection to his family made him feel he was meant to take on this project.
“Maybe some things are happening for a reason,” he said. “It pushes me on even further, to capture these stories and tell this documentary before it’s too late.”