Ladner's Bob Orrick hopes to connect with other local veterans, gather their experiences and present them in a readable form.
He says the project will be a "lasting monument to their service to their country and to defending what we sometimes think too little of - democracy."
Orrick, who served with the Canadian Navy aboard the HMCS Athabaskan during the Korean War, believes Canadian history in general, and Canadian military history in particular, is not being given its due and not taught well enough.
"History, in my estimation, builds the country.
Without a solid foundation in history, you don't know where the devil you are. You don't know where you've been, where you are today or what your future might well be," he said.
Orrick said he hopes to have the project published locally and submit it to libraries and schools.
He said it might end up being a book.
"More important to me is to have something recorded that can be referenced to."
He recently republished Indelible Memories, his book about Canadian sailors in the Korean War.
He served as a public information officer for the Korea Veterans Association of Canada for three years in the early 1990s.
Orrick hopes to meet with veterans from the Second World War, Korea, Afghanistan and all peacekeeping operations.
To reach Orrick, e-mail [email protected], call 604940-9712 or mail 101-8155 Park Rd., Richmond, V6Y 1S9.
