Art McKim and Alvie Burden recount their time overseas during WWII. (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Gates Guarin

Second World War veterans reunite after almost 80 years

Jun 14, 2022 | 4:05 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Art McKim and Alvie Burden were only in their early 20s when they met each other at basic training in Trois Rivieres, Que. It wasn’t long before the two became best friends. After a few months of training, McKim and Burden were sent overseas to Italy to fight in the Second World War.

During a walk along the shoreline in Sicily, McKim was injured after stepping on cordite, an explosive material. Burden, who was with McKim, recounts the moment it all happened.

“There was about a quarter-mile of this cordite that had blown up,” Burden says. ”It was truckloads of it.”

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McKim says he was lucky to have survived.

“I stepped on something I shouldn’t have, and I said ‘this is probably a booby trap’ because there are booby traps all over the place when you’re in the battle area,” McKim says. “I thought I was finished right there, because they took me out, I got blue in the face, gravel and everything.”

Burden was able to get McKim to a ferry they were both waiting for, where McKim received medical attention. Unbeknownst to the two friends, this would be the last time they would see each other. McKim stayed behind in Sicily, where he was in hospital for two months, while Burden continued on into Italy.

After the war, Burden was determined to find his friend and spent decades trying to find his whereabouts.

“I’d been looking for him for 20, 30 years! I kind of remembered that he was by Prince George, and I was trucking up there, so I got a weekend off and I drove all the way…and he wasn’t there.”

All seemed lost until Burden’s niece caught wind of McKim’s name after Burden talked about him being his best friend from the war on a TV feature. After some digging through social media, she was able to find McKim’s oldest son, who put her in touch with McKim’s family in Medicine Hat, where he is now.

The two families made plans to reunite the two war veterans at McKim’s 100^th birthday celebration, which took place this past weekend, but the two had already been in contact leading up to the reunion.

“They have actually been on the phone talking as soon as we found out about it,” says Kelly Burden, Alvie’s youngest son. “Dad got Art’s phone number, called them in the nursing home, and they were talking, already trying to arrange driving out to meet and coming out.”

Kelly says his father, who also recently turned 100 in January, could not wait to see Art.

“The day we were leaving, dad got up at 4:30 in the morning, because he couldn’t sleep, and of course, he came over to the house, he lives on the same property with us and came over two, three hours too early, and ‘oh, we’re not leaving yet.’ He was already dressed, ready to go.” says Kelly.

Jennifer Beck, McKim’s granddaughter says this reunion has meant so much for both families.

“It’s a little awestruck, I think knowing they went through probably some of their darkest days together, and they didn’t know that either of them were still alive until the last couple of weeks,” Beck says. “So I think it was a little overwhelming for everyone.”

Now that the two war veterans have reconnected, there are plans for McKim and his family to travel to Vernon, B.C. this summer to visit Burden. The two plan to stay connected and continue to regale their families of their life stories.