"We Lived in Danger" is a deeply personal and enchanting story about a small-town Canadian boy from Saskatchewan, Victor Hepburn Small, that unveils a rare and fascinating slice-of-life vignette of the World War II era. "Vic's" formative years in Big Sky country, and his love affair for prairie culture, prepared him for an extraordinary life event: to serve his country during WWII. Vic enlisted in 1942 at age 18, "to fight the Germans. Every living body did the same thing."
Published by his wife after his passing in 2021, this memoir is not only a labor of love it is also a remarkably unique anthology. Vic's transcribed, word-for-word, "Blue Bombers" leave letters are both gripping and eloquent. They reveal, with endearing intimacy and authenticity, vivid details of his experience as a young man at Sandhurst Royal Military College and serving in the European Theatre from 1943 to 1945. Not unlike many Canadian soldiers, Vic kept his film camera strapped to his side - all the way from military training in Alberta and British Columbia, across the pond on Cunard Line's Queen Mary - to Great Britain, Holland, and Germany. He left behind an emblematic photo collection for his memoir, delicately captioned by hand, and lovingly preserved in his family for over 75 years.
Vic's story is truly a tribute to the undeniable resolve of his generation, a rare, historic fingerprint of an analytical, light-hearted, yet curious young Canadian man extending his view of the world around him, and finally, an insight into the heart-breaking reality for soldiers of war back then, and the few WWII veterans left today.