‘Bring them back to life’: Naval veteran overcomes PTSD by crafting replicas of forgotten Canadian ships

Adam finds out how a Navy veteran is overcoming PTSD by hand-crafting models of forgotten Canadian war ships from scratch.

SURREY, B.C. — Yvon Lehoux doesn’t need to re-watch a classic war movie on his phone to remember how “The Longest Day” inspired him as a kid.

“My god!” Yvon smiles. “It was so well done.”

Yvon would cut up discarded cardboard and stick them together with scotch tape to craft war ships and toy tanks to play with.

“I put a firecracker (in them) to make it realistic,” Yvon smiles. “I would blow the tank apart!’”

Yvon never outgrew his interest in the military, and at 19 enlisted in the Navy.

“Living in (small-town) Quebec, I’ve never seen the ocean before,” Yvon says. “(I thought) this would be a great (way) to see the world.”

Yvon proudly served at sea for the next 30 years. But after retiring, Yvon struggled with his mental health.

“I was suffering from trauma and PTSD,” Yvon says. “My brain started playing tricks on me.”

But then he happened upon a picture of Second World War ship online that he couldn’t get out of his head.

“The HMCS Thetford Mines!” Yvon recalls. “The ship was named after my hometown and I didn’t know about this.”

He called around. Nobody he knew was aware of it. And then Yvon felt something he hadn’t in a long time — inspired.

“I said, ‘I’m going to build it,’” Yvon recalls.

Although Yvon had never built anything like this before, he thought about the enthusiasm and ingenuity he had while crafting with cardboard as a kid.

Yvon contacted the naval museum at CFB Esquimalt, requested a copy of the HMCS Thetford Mine’s original blueprints, and started hand-crafting countless thousands of components from wood, before building a small version of the boat from scratch.

“The light bulb comes on,” Yvon smiles. “I say, ‘Yes!’ And it works!”

After spending almost 500 hours in his garage completing the ship, Yvon felt transformed.

“I was pretty amazed how it turned out!” Yvon says.

So, he made replicas of eight other ships, including the first one he sailed on, the HMCS Skeena.

More than a sense of accomplishment, Yvon says the process played a significant role in recovery from PTSD and inspired a renewed sense of purpose.

“To build as many lost or forgotten Canadian warships and bring them back to life,” Yvon says.

Now Yvon’s donating the first model of the HMCS Thetford Mines his hometown, and the others to museums — to honour the sailors who worked on them and inspire the civilians served by them.

“This is an important history for our country,” Yvon says. “They all have a story to tell.”