The time around Remembrance Day is tough for Second World War veterans like Hank Jackson, who turns 103 in January.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the only time you really stop and think about all the poor buggers that didn91裸聊视频檛 make it,91裸聊视频� said Jackson, a former tail gunner on a Halifax bomber.

Jackson flew 32 combat missions from the United Kingdom. All members of his crew received Distinguished Flying Crosses from the United States Armed Forces.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檝e all disappeared. My father and my brother were both in the army overseas 91裸聊视频� my father in the First World War 91裸聊视频� and all three of us made it back. So we did above average. We gotta remember a lot of those guys that didn91裸聊视频檛.91裸聊视频�

Bill Cook, who is 98 and was also a tail gunner in the Second World War, flew a dozen missions over Europe.

91裸聊视频淢y crew have all passed away. It still haunts me.91裸聊视频�

More than one million Canadians served in the Second World War. More than 45,000 died and another 55,000 were wounded. Another 33,000 fought in the Korean War.

Veterans Affairs Canada says there are 9,267 veterans of the Second World War and Korean War who are still alive in Canada.

But as veterans die, military historians worry about keeping their history alive in the minds of Canadians.

Staff with The Military Museums in Calgary, home to eight separate museums, have interviewed many of the dwindling number of Second World War veterans.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 always a huge loss when we lose our veterans91裸聊视频� voices,91裸聊视频� said senior curator Rory Cory.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 why it91裸聊视频檚 important for us as a museum and as educators and historians in general to try and keep the public interest alive in those kind of things. It91裸聊视频檚 up to the next generations to carry the torch forward.91裸聊视频�

Cory said the organization has come up with ways to get more war history into Calgary classrooms. There91裸聊视频檚 a program called Explosive Threats related to mining and demining and peacekeeping. And there91裸聊视频檚 another called Explosive Math, which has students do mathematical calculations to plot the shot fall of an artillery shell.

Karl Kjarsgaard, curator of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alta., said he91裸聊视频檚 disappointed with how little students are learning in school about Canada91裸聊视频檚 contribution to the Second World War.

91裸聊视频淲hy should children come to our museum and say, 91裸聊视频楥anada was in World War II?91裸聊视频� I am concerned that Canadians are not being told of the excellence of gentlemen like these guys that did their best to give us our freedom.91裸聊视频�

Canada91裸聊视频檚 involvement in the Second World War is taught in schools, but it often focuses on international conflicts and root causes as opposed to specific battles and exploits.

In British Columbia, for example, the provincial education ministry says social studies for Grade 10 covers the history of Canada and the world from 1914 to present day and requires all students learn about 91裸聊视频渋nternational conflicts and co-operation,91裸聊视频� with the world wars a suggested topic.

Jackie Jansen van Doorn, executive director of The Military Museums Foundation, said stories from a source are key to educating the younger generation.

91裸聊视频淗aving someone who91裸聊视频檚 actually been through a war and tell their first-hand experience is something that really makes memories for students that come through our doors,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淭he education component this is just huge, and having the loss of these veterans impacts on how the next generation remembers things.91裸聊视频�

Cook vividly remembered the first time he was in a firefight.

91裸聊视频淭he instructor would say, 91裸聊视频榊ou don91裸聊视频檛 shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.91裸聊视频� This Focke-Wulf (German fighter plane) was coming in on the tail and I was sitting there waiting until he got closer, and all of a sudden he fired and hit the tail fin,91裸聊视频� Cook said.

91裸聊视频淚 was so bloody scared, I didn91裸聊视频檛 know which way to turn. After that, I thought to hell with the hero worship. When a fighter came in and he was 400 or 500 yards away, I would fire a blast off to let him know, 91裸聊视频業 see you,91裸聊视频� and they would usually peel off.91裸聊视频�

Jackson said he doesn91裸聊视频檛 remember a lot of the missions, but he does recall facing his own mortality.

91裸聊视频淲hen we were flying, I honestly did not think we91裸聊视频檇 make it. Because, you know, I thought if it happened, it91裸聊视频檚 going to happen, and I just hope it happens quick,91裸聊视频� he said with a laugh.

91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 want to go down in a flame or something.91裸聊视频�

Jackson said he has shared some of his experiences with young people who have come to visit, but he also understands why some aren91裸聊视频檛 aware of what happened in the past. They may not have had family members who served.

91裸聊视频淎nyone who has had a family member affected, they probably do.91裸聊视频�

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