John Boileau and Dan Black tell the stories of some of the 30,000 underage youths - some as young as fourteen - who joined the Canadian Armed Forces in the Second World War. This is the companion volume to the authors'' popular 2013 book Old Enough to Fight about boy soldiers in the First World War. Like their predecessors a generation before, these boys managed to enlist despite their youth. Most went on to face action overseas in what would become the deadliest military conflict in human history. They enlisted for a myriad of personal reasons -- ranging from the appeal of earning regular pay after the unemployment and poverty of the Depression to the desire to avenge the death of a brother or father killed overseas. Canada's boy soldiers, sailors and airmen saw themselves contributing to the war effort in a visible, meaningful way, even when that meant taking on very adult risks and dangers of combat. Meticulously researched and extensively illustrated with photographs, personal documents and specially commissioned maps, Too Young to Die provides a touching and fascinating perspective on the Canadian experience in the Second World War. Among the individuals whose stories are told: Ken Ewing, at age sixteen taken prisoner at Hong Kong and then a teenager in a Japanese prisoner of war camp Ralph Frayne, so determined to fight that he enlisted in the army, navy and Merchant Navy all before the age of seventeen Robert Boulanger, at age eighteen the youngest Canadian to die on the Dieppe beaches

About the Author
John Boileau is a retired Canadian army colonel and author of eleven books and nearly 500 articles. He is currently Honorary Colonel of The Halifax Rifles (RCAF). John is an active director of several volunteer organizations, often speaks to various groups on historical subjects and is a frequent commentator on military matters on radio and television. John lives in Nova Scotia. Dan Black has written and edited hundreds of articles on Canada's military, past and present. He is the former editor of Legion Magazine. Dan lives outside of Ottawa. General Johnde Chastelain is a former Chief of the Defence Staff for the Canadian Armed Forces and an ambassador to the United States.

Reviews
History is peppered with stories of young men who joined up when they were under age. Boileau's book takes a look at a huge number of young men aged 14+ who joined the Canadian Armed Forces to fight in the second world war. * Books Monthly *
Detailed it may be , but it is also a first class read and will appeal to both the general reader and military historians. 4.5 stars. * Army Rumour Service *
Meticulously researched and extensively illustrated with photographs, personal documents and specially commissioned maps, Too Young to Die provides a touching and fascinating perspective on the Canadian experience in the Second World War. * Recollections of World War II *



Book Information
ISBN 9781459411722
Author John Boileau
Format Hardback
Page Count 488
Imprint James Lorimer & Company Ltd
Publisher James Lorimer & Company Ltd