MOOSE JAW — An amazing collection of military items was on display at the Highway to Heroes car show.
The display belongs to retired teacher Rob Dignean of Saskatoon.
The display covering about eight tables and with three field guns, is just part of his collection.
“If I do a full display there’s about 55 mannequins, 20 tables, and military vehicles.” Items include an army ambulance from the Korean war and a rekke jeep.
The displays at the Exhibition Convention Centre had a bit of everything – uniforms from all sections of the military, helmets, medals and badges and a table with munitions and small arms used by the military.
The collection ranges from Canadian to military items from other countries and dates from the Riel Rebellion to Afghanistan.
“I started it in the 1990s, started out really small and just kept building and building so I got it to the point where it is today,’’ said Dignean.
The collection started after a high school friend got him interested in military history.
“He was interested in the stories behind the history and that’s what attracted me to it, not the surface battles and things like that, but the people and the historic figures and why all this stuff went on.
“There’s a lot of stories and that’s what I enjoy is collecting something with a story behind it — medals, uniforms, with a story behind them.
“That’s what makes it real when you can put a face or a name to it.”
The collection shows his passion for military history.
“The reason I do this it’s my small way of keeping military history alive. We need to.
“I think as Canadians we don’t celebrate our contributions by the military enough.”
Some people criticize the collection as glorifying war.
“I'm celebrating extraordinary actions done by ordinary people.”
Dignean had a taste of military life joining the 16th Service Battalion reserves for 10 years in Saskatoon when he was 50 and deploying to Afghanistan in the 2013 close-out tour.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
