Fading but not forgotten

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2016 (2919 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ian Thomson flew a Halifax Bomber 44 times over enemy territory during the Second World War, and 44 times he flew back.

Many weren’t as fortunate as Lucky Thomson, who saw planes flown by his brothers in arms blown up in the skies around him. There were many crews that never returned to England.

Thomson, who turns 94 Saturday, returned home from the war more than seven decades ago. Since then — as a result of accidents, illnesses or old age — he’s lost most of his comrades and legion hall friends.

“It’s sad to see them go, but I will be going soon myself,” a chuckling Thomson says.

“But there’s nothing you can do,” he says, paraphrasing verse by Omar Khayyam. “The moving finger writes and, having written, moves on. Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit can cancel half a line of it.”

What has been called the Greatest Generation, people who were raised through the Great Depression and came of age serving their country in a worldwide war, is fast shuffling off into the pages of history.

It’s sad to see them go, but I will be going soon myself.

-Ian Thomson, 94

Veterans Affairs Canada says more than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the country’s Armed Forces, Allied Forces or merchant navy between 1939 and 1945.

Of those, more than 47,000 Canadians died on the ground, on the water or in the air while battling Axis forces. For the lucky ones who made it back, the calendar has been the unstoppable foe.

As of March, there were only 61,300 veterans still alive. That’s down from 75,900 two years earlier.

Veterans Affairs says the average age of the ones who remain is 92.

As of Dec. 24, the Winnipeg Free Press obituaries of 191 people who died in 2016 noted their service as Second World War veterans. That’s an average of more than three a week. Within a decade, there will be just a handful, if any, left. (See list of those lost in 2016 below)

Thomson’s wife, Carol, who was known as Carley Souchereau during her time with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps Reserves starting in 1958, admits it is tough to watch the generation that was barely out of their teens in the Second World War fading away.

“It’s sad to see these people drop off as fast as they are,” she says.

“I think of the people who has served in Afghanistan. We’ve lost so many people there, but nothing like the Second World War.”

Before they’re all gone, the legion both Thomson and his wife are part of has decided to honour them.

The Royal Canadian Legion Henderson Highway, Branch 215, has put together a 13-month fundraising calendar to pay for a wall of honour and remembrance. The wall, which is already under construction inside the legion’s hall in East St. Paul, will use both static and video displays to pay tribute to veterans and members of the legion who are from the East St. Paul and North Kildonan areas.

You read the stories, and it is mind-boggling what they did.

-Legion branch president Gord Machej

The first display is planned to be about Hill 70, the first battle Canadians fought during the First World War as a Canadian Corps and under the command of a Canadian general.

“It’s for remembrance,” says Gord Machej, the legion branch’s president. “It’s very important for us to do an appropriate remembrance of their sacrifices. The general populace is forgetting a lot.

“You read the stories, and it is mind-boggling what they did… we have to continue to encourage the population and the legion to remember, and not just on Remembrance Day.”

Machej said the Second World War veterans he has met over the years all had one thing in common.

“They certainly had no fear, and they had the commitment to do the job,” he says.

Nicole Fanshaw, who runs the restaurant in the legion, said the calendar is $20 and is available at the branch. A thousand were printed, and about half were still available before Christmas.

“We’re very proud of the calendar because we want to honour the veterans,” she says.

Each calendar page features a veteran’s military history and two photos — one current and one from when they served.

But there’s time getting in the way again. Mike Slater, who is featured on the December 2016 page, died in September while the calendar was being put together.

“I’ve lost a lot of people I cared about,” Fanshaw says.

“He (Slater) was very excited to be in the calendar. One of the reasons we’re doing this calendar is because we need to remember them. What they said and what they did, many people don’t remember.”

Thomson’s last bombing operation — “mission” is an American term, he says — was over Germany in February 1945.

When you see someone blown apart 100 feet ahead of you, you never forget.

-Ian Thomson

On one of his 44 runs, the rear gunner of the plane on his nose gave him the thumbs up signal… seconds before it blew up. He believes a bomb on-board the rear gunner’s plane blew up prematurely.

“We flew through the debris — when you see someone blown apart 100 feet ahead of you, you never forget,” he said.

Another time, enemy spotlights locked on to Thomson’s aircraft, and he did what he’d been trained to do — fly above another Allied plane to confuse the anti-aircraft crews below. It didn’t work. The next thing he knew, the plane below him had been shot down.

Thomson still grieves for both those crews and thinks of them when he reminisces about the war.

He said the incidents show a combination of luck and skill determined whether you lived or died.

“My nickname is Lucky,” he says with a smile. “But I had a wonderful crew — and they had a bloody good pilot, too.”

Thomson says his greatest war honour came after the fighting.

“My wireless operator named his first-born son after me.”

Thomson says he is proud to have served.

“It was never a job,” he said. “We thought it was our duty. We just did what we thought we should. I wouldn’t be surprised if 98 per cent felt the same way.

“I believe history has shown us that we were correct.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Remembering those lost

Second World War veterans who passed away in 2016 and had obituaries in the Free Press which mentioned their service:

Jan. 3 — Michael Petrynko, 91. Served in the Second World War at age 18 in the Tank Corp.

Jan. 4 — Chester Lyons, 96. He served his country in the Second World War. Later had career in air force.

Jan. 6 — James Forsyth, 96. During the Second World War he went to England and drove and serviced various transport trucks and vehicles. and received a Canadian Volunteer Service Medal.

Jan. 10 — Willis Wilson, 98. He served as a RCAF flying officer with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan teaching new recruits basic flying.

Jan. 11 — Bob Sutton, 89. He enlisted in the RCAF in 1944 and completed his training just as the Second World War was winding down and consequently he did not fly in active combat, something he regretted.

Jan. 11 — Stefan Wawryk, 94. He served with the Royal Canadian Artillery, 3rd Field Regiment, 19th Battery, 1st Division in the battle of Ortona, Italy. He was wounded in battle and taken back to England.

Jan. 12 — John Feschuk, 94. He served in the RCAF.

Jan. 13 — Donald Robson, 91. He was a proud Second World War Navy veteran and member of the White Ensign Club.

Jan. 13 — Andy Tough, 94. He joined the RAF and earned his pilot’s wings in Moose Jaw. He flew his first Spitfire in the United Kingdom before being deployed to India and Burma.

Jan. 13 — Alex Patapow, 88. He was born in Russia and fought for Russia in the Second World War.

Jan. 14 — Frank Rowan, 94. He served in the RCAF as an observer, flying missions over Germany. He was shot down in March 1945 and was a prisoner of war until the end of the war.

Jan. 14 — Bert Moon, 91. He enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served in the Merchant Marine.

Jan. 15 — Gene Britton, 95. A Second World War veteran.

Jan. 16 — Bill Giesbrecht, 98. He served with the 1st Battalion Saskatoon Light Infantry from 1939 to 1945.

Jan. 18 — Chuck Steen, 91. He was very proud to be a Second World War veteran, serving on the 600 Wing Executive and participating in Remembrance Day services every year.

Jan. 19 — Emil Litke, 92. While he was enlisted in World War Two he met and married the love of his wife Jean.

Jan. 19 — Hugh Buskell. He was a proud Second World War veteran.

Jan. 20 — Arthur Schwartz, 92. He was with the Royal Canadian Army Dental Corps from 1944 to 1947 stationed in the North Atlantic and England and commissioned with the rank of Captain.

Jan. 20 – Palmi Sigvaldason, 96. He joined the Armed Forces and served with them for two and a half years.

Jan. 25 — Arthur Wilson. He joined the RCAF in 1942. He was attached to the No. 410 Repair and Salvage Unit of the Second Tactical Air Force. This operated in support of the Army from Juno Beach to Central Germany.

Jan. 26 — Larry Beeston, 81. Graduated from St. Paul’s High School in 1942 and went directly into the Canadian Navy. He graduated from signalman school in St. Hyacinthe and served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theatres of war.

Jan. 28 — Richard Hayward, 87. He enlisted as a cadet, learned mechanical skills and tank operation, but was never deployed because he turned 17 on V-E Day.

Jan. 28 – Bernard Mills. He served with the RCAF.

Jan. 30 — Peter Wiebe, 94. He joined the RCAF and served as a pilot during the Second World War.

Feb. 1 — Larry Francis, 94. He was a member of the Lake Superior Regiment (Motor) during the Second World War and served overseas in England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Feb. 4 – Ray Daniels, 93. Joined the RCAF during the Second World War where he served as a navigator until he was seriously injured requiring two years of hospitalization and rehabilitation.

Feb. 5 — Meredith Huston, 96. He served in the Navy on the HMCS Hespler in the Second World War.

Feb. 6 – Bruce Kraeling, 97. He joined the navy and served as a communications sailor.

Feb. 6 – Mick McLean, 89. He enlisted with the armed forces in 1944 and joined the RCAF and qualified as an air gunner special group with the rank of sergeant.

Feb. 7 – John Chale, 92. He joined the RCAF, but after receiving his wings he was seriously injured in a flight accident and spent two years in hospital.

Feb. 8 — Conrad Schwartz, 95. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy, serving on the HMCS New Glasgow and HMCS Chambly.

Feb. 8 – Stanley Kloczkowski, 97. He joined the Polish 65 Light bomber Division which saw heavy fighting and retreated to Romania where he became a prisoner of war. He was able to escape with a false passport and get to England where he joined the 300 Squadron of the Polish Air Force.

Feb. 9 – Fred Dubois, 90. He served with the Navy on both coasts during the Second World War.

Feb. 11 – Wally Dunn, 93. He spent six months training before going overseas with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders. For a short period of time he drove a truck, lights turned off, to Scotland filled with ammunition. A beautiful young lady named Maggie went with him and drove it back to England. Turns out Maggie was actually Princess Elizabeth now Queen Elizabeth.

Feb. 13 – Bill Jorheim, 92. He joined the 1st Canadian Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, and was shipped off to Britain to join the 57th Battalion. He saw action in Italy and then, in 1944, his unit joined the Canadian Army in northwestern Europe where a picture was taken of him and his crew which now hangs in the War Museum in Ottawa.

Feb. 17 – John Lamont, 90. John enlisted at age 17 in the Royal Canadian Air Force and proudly served his country overseas during the Second World War.

Feb. 23 – Arthur Beavis, 90. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Feb. 23 – Gord Peterson, 90. He was a veteran of the Second World War.

Feb. 23 – Don Hasselfield, 91. He joined the navy and from 1942 to 1945 he rose from naval cadet to Lieutenant.

Feb. 29 – Bill Dion, 94. In 1942, he joined the RCAF and proudly served his country until the end of the war.

Feb. 29 – Douglas MacPherson, 91. Served in the Second World War.

March 1 – Jack McGregor. Served in the Second World War.

March 4 – Don Johnston, 91. He served in the RCAF.

March 6 – Harold Sweetland, 97. He enlisted in Winnipeg Sept. 1939 with the Fort Garry Horse. He saw action with 12th Manitoba Dragoons armoured cars in Normandy, Germany, the liberation of Holland, and was mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service.

March 7 – Jack Gilbert, 92. He was a member of the RCAF.

March 8 – Harry Simpson, 98. He enlisted in the RCAF and attended No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School in Paulson. He was stationed at Torbay, NL, where the missions were to provide air cover for Allied convoys and patrol for U-boats.

March 9 – Leo O’Neill, 91. He joined the RCAF and trained as a bombardier before he went overseas.

March 10 – Donalda Brekelmans, 91. She served in the navy during the Second World War signalling ships safely to shore at Halifax harbour.

March 10 – Bill Carr, 92. He joined the Royal Canadian Army.

March 17 – Dorothy Duguay, 91. She joined the Women’s Navy (WRENS). She trained at Guelph, Ontario and served in Cornwallis and Halifax, Nova Scotia and then finally settled in Winnipeg.

March 18 – Ruth Johnstone, 93. She served her country in the military in the Second World War, based in Ottawa as a military photographer.

March 18 – Harry Tregobov, 91. He served as an infantryman.

March 23 – Eric Gilbart, 92. Flt. Lt. ‘Gil’ was a pilot in the RAF/RCAF during the Second World War.

March 23 – Jack Westergard, 96. He was in the air force.

March 24 – Issie Brass, 99. Served overseas with the Canadian Army during the Second World War.

March 24 – Max Hatch, 91. He joined the air force in 1943 and served overseas in London for the duration of the war.

March 25 – Ray Vadeboncoeur, 91. He was a Second World War veteran.

March 29 – Laurie McGregor, 92. During the Second World War Laurie enlisted in the Air Force where he was a ground crew mechanic in squadrons stationed in Alaska and Vancouver Island.

March 29 – Bert Friesen, 91. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at the age of almost 18. He was stationed in Whitehorse, Yukon.

March 31 – Thomas Crothers, 91. Enlisted in the RCNVR in July 1943 and served until 1945.

April 1 – Jack Hodges, 95. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, (he) enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 and served until the end of 1945.

April 2 – Ray Dorey, 90. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at the young age of 17 during the Second World War.

April 3 – Henry deDenus, 91. Henry was a proud Second World War veteran.

April 4 – Cecil Durnin, 93. Was a proud veteran of the Second World War, a pilot who served in England and India.

April 4 – Donald MacDonald, 95. He enlisted with the RCAF in the Second World War and served several tours over France and Germany with 409 and 406 Squadrons, flying the deHavilland Mosquito aircraft as a night fighter/intruder pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and is credited with destroying three enemy aircraft and damaging another.

April 4 – Harold Murray, 91. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, remaining in the RAF Reserves after the war.

April 5 – Joe Leibl. In 1941 he joined the army where he remained for five years.

April 5 – Lawrence Graham, 98. Voluntarily enlisted to serve in the Second World War with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders from 1942 to 1945.

April 8 – Stanley Combe, 90. He was a pilot in the North Atlantic.

April 11 – William Woodford, 92. He served with PPCLI as a Corporal in Canada, Britain, Central Mediterranean and northwest Europe.

April 12 – Jack Sinnott, 93. He served in England, France, Holland and Germany.

April 14 – Gusti Jacobson, 93. He was proud of being a flying officer in the Second World War and being the first local to graduate from Gimli Flight School.

April 15 – Peter McGregor, 95. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1940. He served as a flying officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

April 16 – Henryk Wiktorowicz. He was a Polish Second World War veteran. When Amnesty was declared in June 1941 (Soviet Union joined the Allies against Germany) he joined the Polish Army and joined the Polish Second Corps in Egypt which was part of the Allied offensive in the Italian campaign. He took part in the final and successful attack by the Polish forces at Monte Cassino. As a member of the signal corps division, he consistently risked his life by transporting ammunitions to the front lines.

April 20 – Beatrice Sucharov. She worked in coded communications in the Second World War.

April 21 – Peter Stefanko, 92. He served his country with four years in the military as an anti-aircraft gunner.

April 23 – Harry Cohen, 93. He served in Burma during the war.

April – Edmond Roy, 92. After graduating from high school in St. Pierre he enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, and served as a bomber.

May 1 – Ed Duffy, 93. He enlisted in the RCAF in 1942 and served overseas in the U.K.

May 1 – Percy Hannesson, 93. He served four years in the RCAF.

May 5 – Harry Hampson, 91. Joined the service of the RCAF in 1943 and proudly served to 1946.

May 6 – Peter Sawatzky, 94. He enlisted in the army and served overseas in the Second World War.

May 7 – Herbert Renz, 91. Born in a small German village he served in the military and was badly injured in the Second World War.

May 16 – Alex Matheson, 91. He enlisted in 1943 and served in the armed forces for 33 years.

May 18 – Joseph Stoyanowski, 95. He enlisted in the army and got his training as a mechanic in the RCEME Corps.

May 21 – Fred Langan, 92. He proudly served our country as a Private with the PPCLI during the Second World War.

May 22 – Mary Philipps, 95. She served as a nurse in the Navy (WRENS) during the Second World War.

May 22 – Len Jorgenson, 96. He was a Second World War veteran with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

May 23 – John Koniak, 94. He enlisted in the army, serving with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders in World War II.

May 23 – Ellery Post, 91. He was a Second World War veteran who joined the Navy at 17 in 1942 and served on Royal Canadian Navy ships, including the Destroyer HMCS Huron. He was part of a crew whose role included protecting convoys bringing supplies into Russia on the Murmansk run.

May 25 – Bruce Cameron, 92. He enlisted in the RCAF in October 1943. Training as an Air Gunner in Quebec, he was released as a Sergeant in January 1945 due to a surplus of airmen projected for 1945.

May 26 – Lloyd O’Morrow, 92. He was a pilot and flight instructor in the RCAF in the Second World War.

May 28 – Hazel Campbell, 92. Born and raised in England she joined the Women’s Land Army and worked very hard on the farms as the men were sent to war.

May 29 – Arthur James, 92. He served with distinction in the British Army, particularly in Burma during the Second World War, and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer.

June 2 – John Kuryk, 91. He served in the army, stationed across Canada from the west coast to the east coast.

June 3 – James Cartlidge, 90. When the war started he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he earned his Officers Commission.

June 3 – Herb Jackson, 92. He left the U of M to join the RCAF for the Second World War.

June 5 – Donald Evans, 91. Grew up in Yorkshire, England. During the Second World War he served in the RAF 83rd Squadron as a flight engineer on a Lancaster Bomber.

June 13 – George Gershman, 93. He served in the air force during the Second World War.

June 13 – Albert Jacobs, 90. He was a child soldier during the Second World War, having lied about his age to enlist and seek adventure.

June 13 – Ole Anderson, 92. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy.

June 14 – Grant Wade, 93. He enlisted in the RCAF in 1942 and was in active duty as a bomb aimer on an Avro Lancaster situated on an RAF base (Squadron 101) in Ludford Magna. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross upon his return.

June 14 – Ted Tacium, 94. He was turned away from the Royal Canadian Air Force because of his youthful appearance. He managed to join the Canadian Army, Ontario regiment, in 1940, and after training at Camp Borden, was initially stationed in Brighton, England. As a member of a tank regiment, he landed in Sicily and moved along with the armed forces through Italy in 1944.

June 15 – Paula Henry. During the Second World War, she served in the Women in the Air Force as a balloon barrage specialist and as an instrument mechanic supervisor for automatic pilot controls.

June 16 – Jim McLennan, 92. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1941 and served in France, Holland and Germany until his discharge in 1946.

June 17 – Bryce Badgley, 91. He enlisted with the Calgary Highlanders at age 19, taking his basic training in Shilo, Manitoba and was sent overseas in 1944, serving in England, Holland and Germany.

June 19 – Thomas Owen, 94. Tom joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War where he flew in Lancaster bombers.

June 21 – Frank Williams, 93. At the age of 17 he enlisted and spent the next five years in the Navy on a corvette in the North Atlantic escorting convoys from North America to Britain.

June 21 – Al Heaton, 92. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and in 1944 shipped overseas where he served in England and Germany.

June 29 – Arthur Hornby, 90. At age 18, the war interrupted his apprenticeship when he joined the RCNVR.

July 2 – David Ferguson. He bravely served his country during the Second World War.

July 2 – Ruth Norris, 95. She served her country in the Second World War in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1943 to 1946.

July 4 – Paul Martin, 96. He enlisted in the army and became part of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He landed on the beaches of Normandy and was decorated several times, retiring from the military with the rank of Captain.

July 5 – Lyndy Best. He served as a navigator in the RCAF.

July 8 – Glenn Adlard, 98. He served overseas during the Second World War in the RCAF in England and Europe as an aircraft mechanic.

July 8 – Vern Watson, 92. He joined the armed forces in 1943 and served four years.

July 11 – Bud McLean, 93. He joined the Lord Strathcona Horse (Royal Canadians) and served overseas with his regiment in Italy and northwest Europe. He received the Military Medal at Buckingham Palace from King George VI in 1945.

July 18 – Matthew Kolosinski, 95. He worked the family farm until duty called him to serve in the Canadian Forces in 1942. He had a long career in the RCAF in aircraft maintenance.

July 20 – John Saunders, 96. A veteran of the Second World War.

July 22 – Ronald Johnson, 92. He joined the RCAF in 1943 and was stationed with 418 Edmonton Squadron in England, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

July 24 – Nicholas Kushnier, 92. He enrolled in the Navy and was proud to serve his country in the Merchant Marines.

July 30 – Fredrick Knight, 93. He was a Second World War veteran.

Aug. 3 – William Smerchanski, 93. He served during the Second World War Home Guard stationed in Montreal.

Aug. 11 – Harold Mack, 97. He served three years in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Aug. 12 – Lionel Hutlet, 91. He was a Second World War veteran and was wounded in battle in Northern Germany after crossing the Rhine River.

Aug. 18 – David Silver, 94. After graduating high school he joined the Canadian Air Force, serving as a pilot during the Second World War.

Aug. 22 – Tom Cuddy, 94. He enlisted in the RCAF in 1941 at the age of 19 and was sent overseas where he worked with the team developing radar.

Aug. 25 – Logie Johnson, 92. He joined the Navy, the Second World War, sailing the Atlantic Ocean in an escort vessel and a convoy known as the Murmansk Run, just south of the Arctic Circle.

Aug. 26 – John Lunney, 90. He joined the army at age 17 and was stationed at Camp Shilo.

Sept. 3 – Lawrence McAllister, 97. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Sept. 4 – Harold Fraser. He served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War on the HMCS Canso and participated in D-Day.

Sept. 5 – Gordon McIntosh, 90. Joined the army in 1944 and proudly served with the Princess Patricia Light Infantry.

Sept. 5 – Albert Drayson, 91. He joined the Winnipeg Rifles in 1943 and served in France, Germany and Holland. He was wounded in Belgium.

Sept. 6 – Alfred Landry, 96. At the age of 21 he joined the Royal Canadian Army. He was a fully trained infantry soldier serving with the Hull regiment from Hull, Quebec.

Sept. 11 – Czeslaw (Chester) Toposzkiewicz, 101. He joined the Polish army at age 20. He was interned in a Siberian labour camp and after his release served in the Polish army during the Second World War in Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Egypt. He fought in the Italian campaign including the battle of Monte Cassino. He immigrated to Canada after the war.

Sept. 13 – Len Kropioski, 98. He enlisted in the army on Nov. 22, 1940, and was honourably discharged on Jan. 5, 1946. Leo served alongside the U.S. forces in the Aleutian Islands campaign between June 3, 1942, and Aug. 15, 1943.

Sept. 15 – Walter Netzel, 100. He was a veteran of the Second World War.

Sept. 18 – Miran Olynyk, 92. He proudly served his country in the Second World War, first joining his brothers in the Army in 1941, then transferring to the Navy from 1943 to 1945 on HMCS Agassiz in the Atlantic.

Sept. 19 – John Innes, 94. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Dragoon Regiment and did his duty in Italy, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Sept. 20 – Paul Moulden, 91. He served as a gunner in the Canadian Artillery serving in Italy, France, Holland, and Germany, including the Army of Occupation.

Sept. 22 – Jim O’Toole, 93. He enlisted at age 18 after graduating from high school. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew Hurricanes and Spitfires, among other aircraft,. He was a pilot with 443 Squadron, Wing 127.

Sept. 22 – Marcel Asselin, 96. He was a pilot in the RCAF and earned the rank of Flight Lieutenant. As an instructor, he helped many recruits earn their wings while stationed in Dauphin, Regina, Terrace, BC and England.

Sept. 22 – Bill McGowan, 92. He served with the Fort Garry Horse, as a Captain of a small tank division, during the Second World War.

Sept. 23 – Jim Gosselin, 95. He served in the Second World War.

Sept. 23 – Herb Britton, 97. When the Second World War came his biggest fear was that he would not accepted into the army. However he was. Herb served with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps and the Lincoln and Welland regiment for nearly six years, fighting in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Sept. 24 – Bill Douglas, 96. He served in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, was a POW and a proud veteran.

Sept. 25 – Bill Sawchuk, 90. When the Second World War broke out he joined the Navy from 1941 to 1946.

Sept. 28 – Thomas Sykes, 95. He was a pilot of a Mitchell aircraft in Bomber Command overseas.

Sept. 29 – Michael Slater, 92. He joined the PPCLI in 1944 and then volunteered for the elite 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. He joined the battalion in England, where it had just returned following participation in the D-Day Airborne Operation. He then deployed with the battalion to take part in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and The Ardennes. He also took part in actions in the Netherlands and Germany.

Sept. 30 – Ray Labossiere, 92. In 1943 he enlisted in the army where he spent eight months as a POW near Munich, Germany.

Sept. 30 – John Keysers, 96. He enlisted in the Winnipeg Grenadiers, 2nd Battalion Armed Forces, from Jan. 1942 to Feb. 1945, serving in Canada and the North Pacific area.

Oct. 1 – Joe Katchur, 92. He joined the Air Force serving in Canada.

Oct. 1 – Fred Tully, 91. He joined the army in 1944 and served overseas until 1946.

Oct. 3 – Jack Brown, 96. He served with the RCAF from 1942 to 1945 and was stationed at Brandon where he served as an AERO engine mechanic.

Oct. 5 – Peter Pozerniuk, 92. He served in the air force.

Oct. 8 – Ray Thurlbeck, 92. He served as a heavy duty tank instructor at Camp Borden.

Oct. 12 – Tom Talarico, 96. He served in the RCAF.

Oct. 12 – Frank Aldwinckle, 97. Served with the Royal Fusiliers (City of London regiment) from 1939 to 1945.

Oct. 14 – Earl McMillan, 93. He joined the RCAF in 1942 and served as a pilot flying from India and the Cocos Islands.

Oct. 18 – John Pelletier, 94. He joined the army on June 18, 1940.

Oct. 19 – Frederick Farmery, 96. He served in the Air Force during the Second World War in reconnaissance.

Oct. 19 – David Moors, 91. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1944 and was trained as a torpedoman.

Oct. 22 – Ivan Dobson, 95. In 1941 he joined the RCAF and trained in Canada to obtain his Observers Wing. In 1942, he arrived in the United Kingdom where his training was completed and he performed operations with RAF 192 squadron. However, the crew was split up and his new crew was sent to the Middle East to 104 RAF squadron where he completed 39 missions as Squadron Bomber Leader.

Oct. 22 – John Shachtay, 97. He joined the Army and served in the Second World War.

Oct. 24 – Bill Belcher, 92. He joined the Air Force and served during the close of the Second World War.

Oct. 26 – Jim Henderson, 94. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1941 to 1945.

Oct. 29 – Gilbert Simpson, 91. He answered the call to serve, joining the Royal Navy in 1944 and serving on the HMSC Prince Rupert.

Oct. 29 – Alvin Raetzen, 103. He joined the RAF in 1941 and was a flight navigator on many missions. In 1944 his plane was shot down and he was captured and imprisoned in a German POW camp for a year.

Oct. 31 – Marshall Webber, 95. He was a member of the Highland Light Infantry and served in battle from mid-1944 through to the end of the war.

Oct. 31 – Margaret Cooney, 91. She entered the army and proudly served her country until the war ended.

Nov. 6 – George Steffenson, 94. As a young man he joined the army and performed duties such as messenger and truck driver while overseas during the Second World War.

Nov. 7 – Samuel Fletcher, 90. He served in the Second World War and the Korean War.

Nov. 8 – Alexander Smaluk, 95. An instructor with the RCAF in the Second World War.

Nov. 8 – Bill Everett, 95. In 1939 he was accepted into Royal Military College in Kingston. In 1941 he joined the Canadian Navy and was assigned to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England, where he graduated as a Midshipman. He joined the war effort aboard the British battleship HMS King George V and was later transferred to the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious. In 1943 he was assigned to serve on the HMCS Saskatchewan escorting convoys to Murmansk and later served on the HMCS Kootenay. By the time he left the Navy he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant and had been mentioned in dispatches for distinguished service.

Nov. 10 – George Nobiss, 92. At the age of 16 he joined the army with the Winnipeg Grenadiers and fought in the Second World War in the Battle of Hong Kong. He was wounded in battle, captured, becoming a prisoner of war for almost four years in the Japanese prison camps where conditions and treatment were unbelievable.

Nov. 10 – Thomas Ogilvie. He was a Second World War RCAF veteran.

Nov. 13 – Marty Weiten, 91. Proudly served in the Second World War in the RCAF.

Nov. 15 – Ralph Nixon, 94. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served from 1942 to 1945.

Nov. 19 – Isaak Doerksen, 94. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corp. in 1940.

Nov. 19 – Hershey Braunstein, 94. He served in the Navy in the Second World War.

Nov. 28 – Norman Faulkneer, 91. He was a returning army veteran from the Second World War.

Dec. 1 – Bill McElrea, 97. He trained as a pilot during the war but was grounded by a heart murmur after which he was stationed at Stevenson Airport as an electrician.

Dec. 2 – Arkie Wilton, 95. He served as a Flight Engineer in the Second World War.

Dec. 2 – Ora Hlady, 92. She served in World War II with the Air Women’s Army Corps.

Dec. 3 – Palmer Solvason, 98. He served in Halifax for the Canadian Army as a mechanic.

Dec. 9 – Jack Kemp, 91. When he turned 18 he enlisted in the air force and was a radio operator during the war based in Winnipeg, Toronto, and then Vancouver.

Dec. 10 – Dick Wright, 90. On his 17th birthday he joined the army and was assigned to the Infantry Corp. in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. He was sent to Suffield, Alberta, where he was a test subject for gas experiments and war research for three months.

Dec. 13 – Kitty Schaedlich, 95. She enlisted in the British Army.

Dec. 18 – Charles DeGagne, 90. He enlisted in the Army in 1945.

Dec. 18 – Charlie Whitehead, 93. He enlisted in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic stationed in Claresholm, Alberta.

Dec. 20 – Jim McNaughton, 94. He was in the RCAF and was the only survivor in a Lancaster Bomber that was shot down over France.

Dec. 22 – John Kosie, 93. He enlisted into the Army on June 13, 1941.

Dec. 23 – Irene Brownridge, 89. She volunteered to serve as a WREN and spent many of the War years in and around London, England.