A can of Spam transports Bud Flavelle back in memory to when he was 18 years old and a crewman aboard a Second World War warship. “One of my shipmates and I had been making Spam sandwiches one night and inadvertently left the can out,” he said. “It was one of those with teeth that ran around it … When my friend went to get up (from his hammock) a wave hit (the ship) and he landed on his butt on this can of spam. He just yelled like hell.”

Not all veterans celebrate Remembrance Day. Mary Rainville, a female veteran of World War II, is one of them.