War veteran, peacekeeper, convicted murderer, community activist.
Born at St. Boniface on 24 July 1933 to Edith Turner (1912-?) and John Haywood (1909-1963), he was raised on Consol Avenue in the Elmwood community of Winnipeg. In 1945, he found work at the Union Stockyards. He joined the Reserve Army Signals Corps in 1948, helped fight the Winnipeg flood of 1950, and then joined regular military forces in May 1951, just before his eighteenth birthday. He went on to serve 18 years with the Royal Canadian Signals Corps as a lineman. He worked overseas in northwestern Europe, based in Germany, then returned to Canada to the Northwest Territories and Yukon, where he worked on radio systems. His other postings in Canada included Winnipeg, Churchill, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Kingston. In 1963, he was sent to the Belgian Congo for seven months as a United Nations Peacekeeper. He was decorated with a commendation from his commanding officer for his actions while in the Congo.
He suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) upon his return from Africa and struggled with alcohol abuse. At St. Boniface, on 13 December 1967, he shot and killed 22-year-old Angela Barker and 27-year-old Lawrence Wasylenko. He waited on death row for his trial and sentencing, which took place in spring 1968. As a result of a psychiatrist’s testimony regarding the symptoms and mental impacts of PTSD, he received a lighter sentence and was paroled in 1972.
He went on to advocate with the government for many years to have PTSD officially recognized as mental health condition requiring medical and psychiatric treatment, as soldiers returning home after service had no access to treatment at that time. With the assistance of local broadcaster Peter Warren of radio station CJOB, he wrote Mr. God I Am Sorry, a book about alcoholism and PTSD, and how one disease leads into another. He lectured at Canadian Army bases, as well as bases in the United States. With his message, he became an important figure for servicemen everywhere suffering from PTSD due to serving in war-torn countries. In 2003, he was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his relentless efforts in PTSD awareness, government recognition, and victims receiving benefits. He worked at the Chemical and Alcohol Treatment Centre at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre for seven years, counseling alcoholics. He was a valued member of Alcoholics Anonymous, speaking in many places in Canada and the United States. He was also a co-founder of Addictions Recovery Incorporated, two halfway houses in Winnipeg for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Holding an Able Toastmasters Degree helped him to deliver his speeches effectively.
He also held memberships in the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43, Signals Association of Canada, Korean Veterans Association of Canada (Honourary), Sgt. Tommy Prince MM Memorial Unit 76 Winnipeg, and Canadian Association of Veterans and United Nations Peacekeepers. Military medals and decorations include a Special Service Medal–North West Europe NATO, Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, United Nations Medal–Congo, Nobel Peace Prize Medal – United Nations, United Nations 5th Commemorative Medal, Defense of NATO Medal and Frame, and Allied Combat Volunteer Medal.
He loved horses and owned a ranch northeast of Winnipeg. He served with various rodeo and horse associations and was an accomplished rider, horse trainer, and rodeo judge. In Manitoba he won 24 highpoint championships and many individual awards. He also worked in the motion picture industry as a horse wrangler and stuntman. He traveled many summers with World Chuckwagon Champion Kelly Sutherland, and worked as an outrider judge for the World Professional Chuckwagon Association. His fans were especially fond of his black horse, Mannix, which he rode in many parades.
With his first wife, Shirley Ann Verplaetse (1935-2001), he had three children. He later married Janet Elizabeth “Jan” Nuytten (1936-2010).
He died at Grande Prairie, Alberta on 8 June 2012 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery Field of Honour at Winnipeg.
Obituary [Janet Elizabeth Haywood], Winnipeg Free Press, 16 November 2010.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 13 June 2012.
“From death row to advocacy, veteran turned tragedy around,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 June 2012.
“Corporal Joseph Henry Haywood,” Ritchot/Neumann/Dunn/Anchiuk Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 29 April 2026
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