WWII veteran ‘proud’ to have left U.S. for Canada 100 years ago
Global News
Burd Sisler is Canada's oldest living veteran. Now 110 years old, he joined the military in 1943 to serve in the Second World War.
Burd Sisler is Canada’s oldest living veteran.
Now 110 years old, he joined the military in 1943 to serve in the Second World War. Before joining the Canadian Armed Forces, his family moved to Ontario from Ohio, settling in Etobicoke.
As an American citizen, he was not immediately involved in the war, but volunteered to take part in chemical warfare trials, being exposed to mustard gas and allowing specialists to study its effects on parts of his body.
At 28, Sisler signed up to train in telecommunications; a five-year course was condensed into eight months.
“It was a struggle to get through that. I managed to pass all of the exams,” he told Global News. “We were OK.”
When he qualified, he ultimately became Sgt. Telecommunication Mechanic. After the war in Europe was over, he volunteered to transfer to the Pacific, although he ultimately wasn’t sent.
Despite being Canada’s oldest veteran, Sisler rarely speaks about his war experiences. His son, Norm, said he knows more about the Second World War from what he’s read than what his dad has told him.
“As far as war stories, just from what I’ve read, actually,” he said. “I really am in awe of what these guys did for Canada; it just blows me away, it’s unbelievable.”
The agency says more than 22,000 people have been removed from the country in the last 12 months, and nearly 30,000 removals were "in progress" as of Oct. 31.
A problem with the signalling system caused a service interruption this morning on Montreal's light-rail network.
An Ontario lawyer accused by American authorities of advising a Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-cocaine kingpin has had his licence to practice law suspended.
The FIFA draw ceremony will mark the first time Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will be in the same room.
A new report finds anglophones face higher unemployment and lower wages in Quebec; gaps that researchers say carry major economic consequences.
Critics are questioning the solidity of Saab's pitch to deliver 10,000 jobs in Canada if it decides to set up shop here to assemble Gripen fighter jets.
The girl’s disappearance underscores long-standing concerns about the ease with which a parent can take a child to another country without the other parent’s knowledge or consent.
Asbestos cleanup, tight work windows and other TTC delays have slowed the build out of 5G cellular service in Toronto's subway system.
Alberta's UCP government is changing the rules to make it easier for citizens to force a referendum on issues such as the prospect of the province leaving Confederation.
An at-home DNA test given as a birthday gift solved an 80-year family mystery by revealing that a man in Quebec and a man in the Netherlands were long-lost brothers.
Lina Vargas was on the board for almost two years and told Global News that accountability and transparency are fundamental rights for all community members.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly told the House of Commons committee on international trade the move breaches federal contracts tied to manufacturing in Brampton and Windsor, Ont.
A targeted home invasion and kidnapping led to a gunpoint standoff with police and an overnight chase across Toronto. Two suspects remain at large, investigators say.