Howard Cossman was born on November 3rd, 1925 in Montreal, Canada and is here today in Toronto, retelling his courageous life stories. Growing up as a Jewish Canadian in the 30’s wasn’t always easy. Howard thought that one day he would have to show his appreciation of his religion and demonstrate his patriotism to his country. At the age of 17 he went to join the RCAF and later on he joined the Israeli army in 1948 fighting as a Machtal and as a leader of his brothers-in-arms in B Company of the 72nd battalion.
To this day his advice for people of the younger generation is to always believe in yourself, stay in school and stick to your goal in life. Howard was interviewed in early 2009 by Crestwood student Becky Tartick, and in November 2009 he came to the school to speak to Max Romano and Ben Stanborough.
Videos
- 1. Introduction and Opening Remarks
- 2. Life before the War
- 3. Following the News before the War
- 4. Uncle Harris
- 5. Joining Up; Friends and Family
- 6. Training
- 7. Anti-Semitism in the Canadian Forces
- 8. The Troop Ship
- 9. Life in England
- 10. Keeping up with the News
- 11. Mission Briefing
- 12. A Training Accident; meeting an Old Friend
- 13. Types of Aircraft; Working as a Flight Engineer
- 14. About his Flight Missions
- 15. Helping the Survivors; Learning about the Realities of the Holocaust
- 16. Memories of the War; Life after the War
- 17. Fighting in the Israeli War of Independence
- 18. Building the Israeli Army
- 18. Combat in the Galilee; the Machtal
- 19. On Remembrance Day and War
- 20. From One Generation to the Next
