our forefathers, then I say we must name our battalion afer those two men who fought to bring democracy to Canada- Louis Joseph Papineau and William Lyon Mackenzie.”
There was no more discussion. It was settled. From that day on they calledthemselves the Mac»Pap boys.
When Jean Watts and myself had to send out dispatches
.we sent them with a feeling of _ pride. I think every American
reporter there felt the same about the American battalion.
. There were no heroics about the boys. Whe.n the report« ers came to the trenches there were no special acts put on for their benefit. Before any books had reached Spain from this
side every reporter in Madrid donated the best part of his lib»
rary to the boys who were wounded.
r * t Perhaps they were good “copy”. but to the reporters they were a new kind of “copy.” I remember one reporter, writ» ing for a famous American newspaper, saying that if ever he has been proud of being an American it was after seeing those
American boys in the trenches fighting the fascists. He ex» pressed what we Canadian" reporters felt about our boys.
Those of us who had the task of reporting the war, usually felt a little ashamed that we were writing about it and they were doing it. I
I don’t want to get sentimental. Those friends of mine
« who have died there wouldrft have wanted me to go into rap- tures about their heroism. r .
When Jean Watts, the Clarion correspondent, had to leave for a short while, I pinchrhit for her as well as writing for
the Federated Press. Writing distinctly for a Canadian paper
of my own countrymen made me prouder than I had ever
‘been’ in my life. To be given this opportunity now to add my
message makes me feel a little humble-
Isay this: I don’t know how plainly I say it, or how clearly Isay it, but we Canadians must never forget that on the battlefields of Spain, Canada has once again made a name for herself in shaping the history of the world. TED ALLAN.
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