Our Mission

First Heroes began as an effort by a U.S. Marine aviator to find a family member who had failed to return from a bombing mission during the Second World War. The relative had traveled to Canada and flown bombers for the British Royal Air Force while America was still clinging to neutrality.

While researching the missing pilot’s life, we learned he was not alone in joining the fight. He was one of over 13,000 Americans – enough people to fill an army division – who made extraordinary journeys and risked all to fight evil. First Heroes is dedicated to those individuals.

Among them were the wealthiest and poorest, some of whom the Great Depression had hit hard; immigrants and descendants of the oldest American families; blue-collar laborers and college graduates. First Heroes volunteered to fight alongside our allies while America remained neutral.

People Who Matter

Their story has been obscured

Their heroism goes unacknowledged

Their trauma remains unhealed

They have been erased

First Heroes FAQs

First Heroes believes that education plays a vital role in shaping the world of tomorrow. The story of these volunteers deserves to be a recognized chapter in the American narrative. They were the First Heroes of the Greatest Generation; their story took place on an unacknowledged chapter in the story of the U.S.’s road to war. It is time to tell that story.

YES. Before America entered into the war, their exploits were splashed across headlines. However, public attention shifted to Americans in the U.S. military very soon after the Pearl Harbor attack.
NO. While public sentiment varied from place to place, the House of Representatives sent the Nationality Act of 1940 to the Senate. The Act included provisions for expatriating — stripping citizenship — from anybody who enlisted in a foreign military service. By the time it was passed into law, it punished naturalized Americans but not by birth U.S. citizens. However, the Roosevelt administration knew of Canadian recruiting efforts in the United States in 1939 and quietly set the stage for the recruiters’ clandestine efforts to succeed.
Congress passed legislation in 1952 to allow those who had lost their citizenship in the British and Canadian militaries to apply for restoration of their citizenship
The First Heroes were welcomed back into their communities by loving families and friends. However, they were not admitted into veterans’ organizations, and the families of those who died in service were not included among the Gold Star families.
YES. In the year following America’s entry into the war, teams of American officers visited British and Canadian units to invite Americans to transfer. Over 2,000 entered the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
No. They and their families are not acknowledged at these ceremonies.

Will Congress Honor Them?

HR3830

The American Patriots of WWII through Service with the Canadian and British Armed Forces Gold Medal Act of 2025 was introduced on June 6, 2025 by Congressman Eugene Vindman (VA-07). When signed into law, it will authorize a gold medal for all United States nationals who voluntarily joined the Canadian and British Armed Forces and their supporting entities during World War II, in recognition of their dedicated service. The bill was referred to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on House Administration. 

To find the contact information for your congressional representative, click Who Is My Representative?

 

First Heroes wishes to thank the many professional archivists who assisted with our research. Our sources:

Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Ferry Pilots of The ATA (Home (ata-ferry-pilots.org)

Find A Grave

Library & Archives Canada

National Archives and Records Administration

newspapers.com

Royal Air Force Museum

Who we are

 

Our website address is: https://firstheroesww2.org.

 

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