Wars of Conviction

Tim Cook (Editor) Tim Cook (1971–2025) was chief historian and director of research at the Canadian War Museum.Adrian Shubert (Editor) Adrian Shubert is professor emeritus of history at York University.Marcel Martel (Editor) Marcel Martel is professor of history at York University.

“This volume is fantastic. It marshals an excellent cast of contributors and will appeal broadly to Canadian, military, and public historians, as well as those studying transnational movements.” - Asa McKercher, co-author of Canada First, Not Canada Alone: A History of Canadian Foreign Policy “One of the more remarkable strengths of this ambitious book is how it explores the great variety of motivations and experiences of Canadian individuals involved in transnational fighting.” - John MacFarlane, author of Triquet’s Cross: A Study of Military Heroism “This original volume is the first to draw together the histories of Canadian transnational fighters across numerous conflicts. It will interest those curious about Canadian history, the history of modern warfare, and how states and non-state fighters interact.” - Jennifer Wellington, author of Exhibiting War: The Great War, Museums, and Memory in Britain, Canada, and Australia

• Figures viiTribute and Acknowledgments ixWars of Conviction: A History of Canadian Transnational Fighters, an Introduction 3Tim Cook, Adrian Shubert, and Marcel MartelPart One: Getting Started1 A Tradition Without National Boundaries: The Legacy of Foreign War Volunteering 27David Malet2 Canada’s Transnational Fighters 45Tim CookPart Two: Fighting Abroad3 Fighting in His Father’s Shadow: Lance Corporal Richard Paul Dextraze, Canada’s Highest-Profile Foreign Volunteer Casualty in the Vietnam War 79Sean J. McLaughlin4 A Revolutionary in Spite of Herself: Jean Ewen in China, 1938–1939 94Larry Hannant5 Feminizing Foreign Fighters? Canadian Nurses Serving Foreign Forces 111Kathryn McPherson6 Canada’s Foreign Fighter Laws in Historical Perspective 130Tyler Wentzell7 God’s Army: The Story of the Canadian Pontifical Zouaves 146Jean-Philippe Warren8 Orwell’s Children: Canadian Volunteers Who Fought Fascism in Spain and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq 160Michael Petrou9 Canadian Jihadist Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq: What Happened, Who Are They, and What Now? 176Amarnath Amarasingam and Morgan FoxPart Three: Remembering and Commemorating10 “A Struggle Between Beautiful Right and Ugly Wrong”: How Its Canadian Veterans Viewed the American Civil War 193Scott A. MacKenzie11 We Were Not Mercenaries; We Were Fighting for Democracy: Canadian Veterans of the Spanish Civil War and Their Long Quest for Public Recognition 208Margrethe McKoen and Marcel Martel12 Remembering the “Forgotten Wars”: An Experimental Survey on Canadian War Memorials 226Eun Seon Bae13 Telling Canadian Stories of the American Civil War: Exhibition Development at the Canadian War Museum 243Timothy Foran and Claire Champ14 A Virtual Museum for the Spanish Civil War, and Beyond 260Antonio Cazorla-Sánchez and Adrian ShubertContributors 277Index 283