[.ca] Because We Are Canadians: A Battlefield Memoir (ISBN 1550549553)

Amazon.ca:
Perhaps the last battle fought by veterans of any conflict is that of understanding. Separating Sgt. Charles D. Kipp's war memoir from those of his fellows is the uniquely empathetic presentation: when he's holding a dying German soldier, a soldier he himself shot, you feel the blood on your hands as acutely as he does. Because We Are Canadians is the first and only written work by Kipp (he died in January of 2000, aged 82), and what a legacy he has left. Wholly engrossing from the outset, Because We Are Canadians briefly traces Kipp's enlisted life through training near his home in southwestern Ontario to his landing on the beaches of France following D-Day to, most specifically, his contribution to the liberation of Northern Europe, a chronological, hour-by-hour account of the daily battles waged by his regiment through the summer and fall of 1944. Despite the title, which has its own significance, there is nothing in the way of flag-waving or glossed-over glorification in Kipp's recollection. In fact, he is often bluntly critical of the Canadian government--the military in particular--and its handling of many aspects of the war, and he isn't afraid to name names, brushing aside the usual etiquette of anonymity so many war biographers employ when it comes to detailing former comrades' inadequacies on the battlefield. Another distinguishing factor is the storytelling. These are tales that very much tell themselves: unadorned narratives notable for both their great detail and sometimes shocking honesty. Kipp was no saint, and he did and saw things that others wouldn't dare think about, never mind write about (the grisly killing of an unlucky German soldier by phosphorous shell--burned from the inside out--during an outdoor church service comes to mind). But in the end you see the man for the man, and that war in relation to all men. --Jamie O'Meara

An unusually haunting and vividly written account:
Because We Are Canadians is a battlefield memoir of Charles D. Kipp, revealing a Canadian soldier's harrowing struggle to survive on the World War II battlefields of Europe after D-Day. Deftly edited by Lunda Sykes, Because We Are Canadians is strongly recommended as being an unusually haunting and vividly written account, with all the visceral feelings of terrible risk and bloodshed, as well as offering one man's view of both the minute details of everyday life and the unfolding battlefield journal of World War II history.

a biased opinion:
i guess i am biased on this book becuase i am related to the author but i found this book very enjoyable. I'm usually not one for war stories, when i picked up this book I did not put it down untill i was done reading the whole thing. i was mesmerized, this is an amazing read