The U.S. did not officially join the war until 1941. Many Americans signed up to join the Canadian Forces and fight in WW I and WW II before the United States joined those conflicts. The U.S. Purple Heart is on display along with other U.S. memorabilia.
Ben Brinkworth was itching to join (the Allied forces’ fight against the Third Reich) when war was declared in 1939. The problem was the United States wasn’t volunteering troops. Brinkworth did what many young Yanks looking for adventure and purpose in depression-era America had done: he gave up his American citizenship, pledging allegiance to Canada and joined the Essex Scottish Regiment in Windsor.
“I was young and patriotic; I was ready to go. I wanted adventure and action.” He got more than he bargained for in Dieppe when becoming a POW for 2 1/2 years. When the war ended in 1945, Brinkworth returned home to Chicago, carrying the trauma of war as baggage. After a few months he returned to the military, but this time it was the U.S. Army. He retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1967. He is buried in the Arlington Cemetery, his headstone is engraved with the Canadian Maple Leaf. Brinkworth is recognized in the Research Library.