Two of my favourite things:
My dad's Memorial Cross, given to families of Canadian Forces vets who died as a result of injuries sustained during their service. In our case, dad served in the army during WW II, in Germany, France, Belgium, and Holland.
Second favourite thing:
Dad's WW II Canadian Army Pacific Force shoulder patch. This was a special volunteer Canadian infantry division that was formed towards the end of the war in Europe, as part of the American plan to invade the Japanese home islands, called Operation Olympic. Dad volunteered for this Force while he was still in Europe. Before they signed up, soldiers were told that few would survive, for two reasons:
One, every Japanese person, military and civilian, had committed to fight to the death while defending their country. Second, and considering reason number one, the Canadians would be the first troops to land, so this was predicted to basically be a suicide unit. They earned this "point of the spear" position by their reputation in fighting as "shock troops" in Europe. Japan's surrender after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called off Operation Olympic, so dad came home instead.
