John Kilpatrick joined at the age of 18 and became an officer at 20. He operated between Newfoundland and Londonderry, the North Sea, the Bay of Biscay, and D-Day.— His family believed that joining the war was a duty of being a Canadian citizen and they strongly supported his enlistment. John served honourably and then returned to Canada to begin his postwar life.

He was interviewed in his room at Sunnybrook by Amanda Lee, Max Ahn, and Laurel Freedman in November 2010.