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OTTAWA – Some Canadian veterans of D-Day and the Normandy campaign say they have mixed feelings about the world that emerged from the bloodshed of the Second World War.

Larry Wulff, a former Royal Canadian Air Force leading aircraftsman and radar operator, says he’s proud of what he did, but misses the strong sense of purpose that the war gave his generation, whether social, economic or political.

He says today purpose seems to be defined as getting a faster car — or other material things, and Wulff is not alone.

A number of veterans interviewed by The Canadian Press about their Second World War experiences expressed similar misgivings, which historian Desmond Morton says is understandable.

Morton says for a time following the war, veterans saw the economy grow and the standard of living improve.

But Morton, an emeritus professor at Montreal’s McGill University, says the old soldiers rightly feel that the gains they made won’t be enjoyed much longer by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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