A Mother’s Emotional Curb-side Goodbye

It was never easy for mothers to say goodbye to their sons or daughters during wartime. Connie Berling of Sundre, Alta., shares a photo her father and her father’s mother, taken the moment Private Lawrence Smithson got into a car in Vancouver, marking the beginning of his trip overseas in 1945.

(Above) Grace Smithson says goodbye to her son Lawrence.

(Above) Lawrence Smithson at age 23.

Private Smithson saw service as an army truck driver in Canada, England and Northwest Europe. He survived the war and left the army in January 1946.

We thank Connie for sharing these photos and the memories. If you have something to share, please send it to magazine@legion.ca or mail it to Find-Share-Discuss, Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON, K2L 0A1