Canada's participation in the Vietnam war is not well documented.
Although Canada was "officially non-belligerent" in the war, the Canadian government helped the U.S. by sending medical equipment, weapons-making material, and technical assistance.
But it is the war efforts of tens of thousands of Canadian soldiers who joined the U.S. military forces that had a more profound effect on Ray Heimes. The 69-year-old Prince George resident and U.S. Army veteran witnessed firsthand the bravery of Canadian-born soldiers who fought alongside him while he served more than three years of combat duty in the 10-year war.
"People think it was an American war, but it wasn't," said Heimes, a native of Detroit. "There were 13 countries involved [helping the U.S.] and there were at least 40,000 Canadians in Vietnam.
"A lot of the guys in our unit were Canadians. They just came across the border and got a post office box or used a buddy's address and joined up. There was no other war then and they wanted to join because their dad or their brother or uncle served in the military and they wanted to keep up the tradition.
"The attraction was you got to see the world, you got a trade out of it, and they paid you, and in the '60s it was a little hard to find a job."
One of Heimes's Prince George neighbours, Stan De Merchant, is a Canadian citizen who joined the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war and served on swift boats.
While the exact number of Canadians who volunteered for military duty with U.S. services during the 10-year Vietnam war is difficult to pinpoint, most estimates put the number at about 30,000 troops, about the same number of U.S. citizens who fled to Canada to avoid the draft.
