Oh, Canada! Government declassifies files on Supersoldier James “Logan” Howlett

Records of James "Logan" Howlett

Library and Archives Canada made a stunning announcement today: the acquisition of the declassified journals and military records of James Howlett. Howlett was the primary subject of the rumoured Canadian “Supersoldier” program. Better known as “Logan,” Howlett worked for both Canadian and United States government agencies and later, under the code-name “Wolverine,” continued freelance for various non-government organizations.

News Release

Library and Archives Canada’s major acquisition of the declassified journals and military records of Canadian supersoldier James “Logan” Howlett

April 1, 2016 – Gatineau, Quebec – Library and Archives Canada (LAC)

Logan was born in 1882 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, to wealthy landowner Elizabeth Howlett and her grounds-keeper Thomas Logan.

Logan’s journals provide valuable insight into his early life in Canada, including work as a miner in a British Columbia stone quarry, a fur trader for the Hudson’s Bay Company, and a homesteader in the Canadian Rockies. His military career spanned multiple conflicts, making his personnel records an unprecedented study in Canadian military history. Logan was gravely wounded in action many times, and gained a reputation as a gritty survivor.

The Government of Canada has denied the existence of the Supersoldier and Weapon X programs for decades, but recently unmuzzled scientists and librarians have come forward with information on these two programs. Defence minister, Harjit Sajjan, however, has not yet commented on the status of Alpha Flight.

Quick Facts
• WWI: captain in the Canadian Armed Forces (Devil’s Brigade). Fought at Ypres in 1915. Wounded by a sword through the chest.
• WWII: Returned to the Devil’s Brigade in the Second World War, as an allied spy and paratrooper for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion during the Normandy landings on D-Day.
• Cold War: based in Ottawa and Calgary, worked for both CSIS and the CIA.
• Logan later changed his operative name to ‘Wolverine’, and worked with various NGOs.

The full April Fool’s joke can be found on Library and Archives Canada’s website.

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