Courage Rewarded: The Valour of Canadian Soldiers Under Fire 1900-2007 Paperback - 2008

This book deals with a subject not been well covered before- the question of what is "courage in battle," and it examines how bravery was shown by soldiers in the Canadian army from the South African War in 1900 to Afghanistan in 2007. Many of these courageous soldiers have been forgotten and this book is one way of keeping their memories alive, such as that of Corporal William Knisley who, isolated on a lonely South African hill in 1901, held off the enemy until he was killed; and Captain Oliver Mowat who died holding back a Bolshevik advance in the lonely snow-covered woods of North Russia in 1918.
The book does not proceed by presenting a large collection of citations but analyzes the meaning of courage using a wide variety of sources ranging from psychology, philosophy and, to the extent practical, memoirs by Canadian soldiers. In addition, each chapter attempts to show how courage was affected by changes in military technology in that era. Finally, each chapter describes the development of the British system of honours and awards in the related time period and how it affected awards made to Canadian soldiers - the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal. As a result, this book is in effect the most complete history yet of gallantry awards to Canadians. With the first of the new Canadian decorations of military valour awarded in 2007, this era of British awards has ended and a new one begun.