Harold A. Skaarup

My name is Harold (Hal) Aage Skaarup, CD3, BFA, MA in War Studies. "Back in the day" as my generation likes to say, I served as a Canadian Army Paratrooper and Military Intelligence Officer. I have had the great good fortune in having a military career that gave me a chance to see some interesting parts of the world while on duty with NATO in Germany, with the UN in Cyprus, with SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with NORAD in Colorado, with ISAF in Afghanistan and of course here at home and across Canada. During those 40 years with the Canadian Forces, I had the privilege of taking part in history making events and having interesting experiences with incredibly talented people from many different countries. As a result, I believe that I have a bit of insight into some of the military history that Canadian soldiers, sailors, airmen and women have made in the past, are making in the present and will make in the future, both here at home and overseas. I have written and researched a fair number of our military stories and recorded some of those experiences. If you have similar interests, you will find a good deal of it here, shared from my perspective. When I retired from the Army in August 2011 at 5 Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, New Brunswick, I took an interest in the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM) on base. Now settled down at our home in Fredericton, I became a volunteer researcher and tour guide at the museum. I also currently serve on the Board of Directors of the York Sunbury Historical Society and am now one of their past Presidents. I volunteer with activities taking place at the Fredericton Region Museum (FRM), as well as the New Brunswick Aviation Museum (NBAM) in the Miramichi. Along the way, I was inducted into the group of Associate RCAF Historians and am one of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association (CPVA) historians. I am also a member of the Canadian Aerospace Artists Association (CAAA) where we are in the process of building a book on Canadian Aviation artwork. Along the way, I have met many wonderful people and have listened to many of their stories, fielded questions from a myriad of visitors and continue to learn something new about our history every day. The aim, therefore, of these pages, is to share some of these stories with you. I have collected a fair amount of data that will be of interest to military historians and like-minded enthusiasts, but I am not the expert on all things military. What I do have is a wonderful collection of colleagues who do have some expertise in specific military subjects, and if I can't find an answer to your question, I may know someone I can refer you to, who can help.