Trevor Hnatowich submission #1: “War is a stupid thing – it’s too – it’s too wasteful. I – it’s hard to say; I – “ says Lawrence Hnatowich, 93, speaking slowly and deliberately before lowering his head into his chest.
Hnatowich was 20 years old when he volunteered with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 during the Second World War. After two years of training, he was stationed near Darlington, England with the 431 Squadron as an aircraft mechanic.
“It was an eerie sound,” says Hnatowich, describing the aircraft that he worked on. “Miles down, they’d have a meeting spot where they’d circle round and round and round in the air till all the squadrons were in action, and then they’d go on bombing raids.”
Hnatowich’s duties overseas included servicing the massive Canadian aircraft that bombed German strongholds across Europe. His daily inspections consisted of fueling the planes, checking fluid levels, and spotting and repairing leaks.
“We had to wait around for the aircraft to come back after it had gone off. You didn’t want to lose your aircraft, and you wanted to make sure you were there to bring it back,” says Hnatowich, nodding his head as he recalls. “In the two years that I spent there, at the beginning, we were losing quite a few. They were young kids.”