For this Remembrance Day we wanted to highlight an element of service during the Second World War that is not often discussed: forestry. Due to their expertise and experience, when it was decided that foresters would be required for the war effort, the natural place to go was the Pacific Northwest where loggers Canada and the US were recruited to lend their skills both on the home front and overseas. One such individual was Newton Cameron. Born in Victoria to American parents, Newt grew up with logging in his blood. The family business in his case was Cameron Lumber Company, which had been established by his father and uncle when they came to Canada.
Travelling down to Washington, he enlisted in the US Army’s 796th Engineers Forestry Battalion where he rose to the rank of Technical Sergeant. His training took him from Huntsville, Alabama to Kodiak Island, Alaska before he was ultimately deployed to France in the later days of the war. Following the D-Day landings and Operation Overlord, the infrastructure of France had been so badly damaged by the Allied advance as well as the retreating Axis forces that major repairs were needed to maintain the pace. In order to facilitate this, foresters worked tirelessly to rapidly bring the French forest industry back online. They cut timber and operated local mills to produce the requisite lumber for rebuilding bridges and roads that had become impassible. Newton was commended for his efforts by being issued a certificate of merit by his commanding officer. When his service concluded, Newton returned to Vancouver Island and became a staple of the local forest industry until his retirement in 1980.
The BC Forest Discovery Centre is grateful both to Newton for his service but also to his family for giving us permission to share his story and providing his photos and certificate. Lest we forget.
