Heroes Remember interviews
Return to Main MenuDavid Golden
David Golden was born in Sinclair, Manitoba, in 1920. He joined the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps during his third year at the University of Manitoba. Golden missed his graduation after being called to active service with the Winnipeg Grenadiers in May 1941. As a young officer, he served with his regiment during garrison duties in Jamaica. Lieutenant Golden would then serve as the Grenadiers’ intelligence officer when they were sent to Hong Kong later that year. He was captured by the Japanese there on December 25, 1941, and would be a prisoner of war for the remainder of the war. Golden later became a Rhodes Scholar and went on to have a distinguished career in law, the public service and industry in Canada.
Robert Horowitz
Robert Horowitz was born in Cornwall, Ontario, in 1919, the son of Jewish parents who had immigrated to Canada from Russia. He grew up in Montréal and enlisted with the Régiment de Trois-Rivières in late 1939 when he was 20 years old. Horowitz trained at Camp Borden for more than a year-and-a-half before being sent overseas during the Second World War. He underwent further training in the United Kingdom before seeing action or the first time in Sicily in the summer of 1943. He would later be wounded in mainland Italy. Following the war, he spent some time with Veterans Affairs assisting Canadian Veterans in England before later returning to Canada.
Barnet “Barney” Danson
Barney Danson was born in Toronto in 1921. Before the war, he worked for Columbia Pictures. As a Jewish man, he was aware of the political situation in Europe. Danson’s instincts told him that war was imminent, and he felt a sense of urgency to fight against tyranny. As a result, he would join the Canadian Army in hopes of being trained and ready to serve if hostilities indeed broke out. Danson was an Infantry Officer with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada during the Second World War. He fought in the breakout from Normandy after D-Day and was severely wounded, losing an eye. After the war, he had a successful business career and later entered politics where he served as the Minister of Defence in the Pierre Trudeau government.
Bernard Finestone
Bernard Finestone, “BJ” to those who knew him well, was born in Sacramento, California, in 1920 and moved to Montréal when he was 10 months old. His father served with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery during the First World War. Finestone joined the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps while he was studying at McGill University. During the Second World War, Finestone served as a tank commander and was severely wounded during the Italian Campaign. After the war, he would be named the honourary colonel of the British Columbia Dragoons. Before his death in 2013 at age 92, he was an active public speaker, sharing his military experiences as a Jewish Canadian Veteran.
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