The Icelandic connection - 01.06.2014, Blaðsíða 14

156
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 66 #4
men in Canadian uniform in the Great War.
Gudrun had accompanied her husband to
England before he left for France. She had
opened her home there to Icelandic service
men and women on leave and certainly must
have felt a personal connection to so many
of these young people.
In perusing the individual write-
ups one can see the breath of the work.
Each soldier is pictured in uniform. A
record of birth with place and date, family
background, occupation prior to enlisting
and a short summary of the war service,
including battles fought. Many of the men
are listed as having been born in Iceland
and then the date of their immigration to
various North American locations in North
Dakota, Manitoba and so on.
The war in Europe touched over into
North America, more so in Canada than
the United States due to its membership in
the British Commonwealth, although the
Americans certainly did their part as well.
Both nations aligned themselves with the
British and its Allies against the German
and Austro-Hungarian Empire’s invasion
into the other countries in Europe. Canada
and the United States were
‘nations of immigrants’
and it was important for
these immigrant groups to
prove to the rest of their
countrymen their loyalty
to their new country and
its causes.
In 1916, women
of Icelandic descent
in Winnipeg banded
together to form a chapter
of the patriotic women’s
organization, The Imperial
Order of the Daughters
of the Empire. They
named their group the
‘Jon Sigurdsson Chapter’
in honour of the famous
Icelandic politician who
had fought so hard for his country’s freedom
from Danish oppression. Frank Wilson says:
“Once I asked my mother how her mother
became so involved with the IODE.” She
said: “My mother joined another IODE
Chapter and was so impressed that she
felt it would be important for Icelandic
women to reach beyond their Ladies Aids
in their churches and show themselves to
be loyal Canadians. Their motto ‘United
We Stand’ is significant so that women
cast aside religious and political biases and
work together for a common cause - their
patriotism to their new country Canada
while maintaining their loyalty to their
heritage.”
Many years later Johanna Wilson,
together with Dee Dee Westal and Dora
Sigurdson, again under the banner of the Jon
Sigurdsson Chapter of the IODE, reached
out to the Icelandic communities in Canada
and the USA. They gathered captions and
pictures of all men and women of Icelandic
descent who had served their country in
World War II and the Korean Conflict. This
compilation of photos and short biographical