WWI Last Canadian Soldier...

Sometimes life is just too good to be true.

When I heard that Jack Babcock, 107 years old, had become the last surviving Canadian soldier from the First World War and that he lived mere hours away from Vancouver in the eastern Washington city of Spokane, I knew I had to meet him. An incredible opportunity to actually speak to someone who was there – a young soldier caught up in the excitement of defending his country, 90 years ago.

Numerous articles had been written about our country’s last soldier after the death of the only other surviving Canadian veteran, Dwight Wilson – and although there was a lot of information to go on, I wanted to hear it from the man himself.

Jack, although he tried, never made it to the front lines and in turn, managed to live another 9 decades. Destiny diverted him from battle and allowed him time to find the girl he would start a family with, have a career, serve in another country’s Army, and be a witness to history of the 20th century as it unfolded.

I simply found his home number, and called.

“Make sure you bring along your wife and baby.” Babcock’s second wife, Dot, sounded enthusiastic about the visit. We might be making a movie, fine, but you know I truly believe that Jack and his wife loved the idea of a social scenario, nothing formal: not a structured interview, simply conversation. They had recently been bombarded by multiple interviews from newspapers across Canada, so it was well understood.

I drove down to Spokane with my family on a Sunday afternoon and we arrived at the neatly kept bungalow after a lengthy journey (multiple pit stops), and we were warmly welcomed into their home.

Jack was positioned in the middle of the sofa, while Dot sat off to one side. He is definitely not slight – thick white hair & solid as a rock with hands that enveloped mine in a handshake.

Jack and Dot have cats, which were an immediate distraction for my 2 ½ year old son, and although watching Kieran chase the cats around the living room was definitely entertaining, Jack came back to my various questions. I wanted to be spontaneous and enjoy the moment, not worried about “getting the good stuff”.