The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War Digital Archive has the very real potential to play a vital role in the debates surrounding the 1939-45 conflict. Perhaps the most highly charged of these surrounds the Allied bombing campaign – even the most lackadaisical Internet search on the subject will turn up references to the “Death by Moonlight” episode of the CBC docudrama The Valour and the Horror and the recent controversy surrounding the War Museum exhibit on the subject, to name only Canadian examples – a campaign in which Canadian personnel played a disproportionate role.

By interviewing Second World War veterans individually, The Memory Project allows the actual participants in these events to share their thoughts on this issue in a direct and easy-to-consult format. And they have not hesitated to do so. All of the Bomber Command flight crew members whom I have spoken with raised the topic of the morality of bombing and how they are perceived by the wider public on their own initiative. This group so far consists of only four people among the over 100 Second World War veterans I have interviewed since joining the project, but that seemingly tiny number belies the eloquence of those interviewees, and my experiences were powerful enough to prompt this writing.

Of course, those interviews, which averaged a little less than an hour in length, were edited down to the 6-9 minute clip which appears on our digital archive. Admittedly, these edits reflect my biases, but in each case the passion brought out by the individual comments on the bombing debate insured that the clips concerning that subject were selected, regardless of my personal opinion about what was stated.

This is just another example of the many ways that The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War helps grant veterans the opportunity to share their perspectives on the issues that matter to them.