War Museum, T34 and John Belushi

Emily and I in early January drove to Kingston and then up to Ottawa.  I wanted to tour the War Museum and revisit the armoured vehicle basement room. The room holds 50 vehicles or more, including a German Panther tank and a Russian T34 tank. I was in my element and dare I say that Emily was enjoying the road trip and tour. At least she told me she was.

A young woman approached  and introduced herself as a guide. She had a Master’s degree in Military History. While chatting with her I was humbled by how little I knew about the fighting qualities of the German Panther and the Russian T34 tanks. She was a wealth of information.  It was Nirvana.  Any question I posed and she had the answer. I found out her favourite subject was early Roman warfare. It was overload.  I’m sure I saw Emily role her eyes with real delight.

It was a game changer when she led us closer to a Lee tank, opened up the side entrance door and pointed out a signature on the door. It was signed by John Belushi.  Our tour guide and Emily laughed.  Now that was something I wasn’t expecting to find at our National War Museum. Roman warfare will have to wait ‘til the next visit. Here’s to you John Belushi and a Lee tank.

Martin Harlick