Guerriers oubliés

Although they could not be conscripted, when World War II was declared, thousands of Indigenous Canadian men and women enlisted and fought alongside their non-Indigenous countrymen. Ironically, they fought for freedom for others while being denied equality in their own country. As a reward for fighting, the Canadian Soldier Veteran's Settlement Act allowed returning soldiers to buy land at a cheap price. However, many of the Indigenous soldiers were never offered nor told about the land entitlement. Some returned home to find the government had seized parts of their own reserve land to compensate non-Indigenous war veterans. Whole First Nations communities still mourn the loss of the thousands of acres of prime land they were forced to surrender. With narrator Gordon Tootoosis providing an historical overview, Indigenous veterans poignantly share their unforgettable war memories and their healing process. We join them as they travel back to Europe to perform a sacred circle for friends left behind, but not forgotten, in foreign grave sites.

Au cours d'une des dernières journées de la Deuxième guerre mondiale, six jeunes Canadiens membres de l'ARC s'envolent une fois de plus au-dessus de la jungle pour ravitailler des villages isolés de la Birmanie, mais leur avion cargo ne reviendra jamais à sa base. Les dépouilles seront retrouvées quarante-cinq ans plus tard grâce à la découverte par un chasseur birman des débris du Dakota sur le versant d'une colline. L'équipage était composé de volontaires originaires de diverses régions du Canada dont l'âge moyen était 22 ans : le pilote William Bennet Rogers, le copilote William Joseph Kyle, le navigateur David McLean Cameron, les radiotélégraphistes Charles Peter McLaren et Stanley James Cox, et le manutentionnaire de fret Cornelius John Kopp. Disparus en Birmanie : la fin d'une mission est constitué de témoignages de collègues et de membres des familles sur la vie de ces jeunes gens, en temps de paix et sous les drapeaux, entremêlés de scènes de la difficile recherche des dépouilles dans la jungle birmane et d'images des funérailles émouvantes à Rangoon où ils ont été mis en terre avec les honneurs militaires. En anglais avec sous-titres français.

During the final days of the Second World War, an RCAF crew of six young Canadians sets out on a routine mission, dropping food and supplies for isolated Burmese villages. Their Dakota cargo plane takes off over the jungle--and vanishes without a trace. Forty-five years later, a Burmese hunter finds what's left of the wreckage on a hillside, starting a chain of events which led to the recovery of the Canadians' remains. The volunteer crew was made up of six men from across the country: pilot William Bennet Rogers, co-pilot William Joseph Kyle, wireless operator Charles Peter McLaren, navigator David McLean Cameron, wireless operator Stanley James Cox, and cargo handler Cornelius John Kopp. Their average age was 22. Lost over Burma: Search for Closure weaves together their lives and wartime experiences--through the memories of colleagues and families--with scenes of the dramatic 1996 mission into the Burmese jungle to recover their remains and the emotion-laden funeral near Rangoon, where they have finally been laid to rest with full military honours.