Moose Jaw Express Legion Magazine 2019

In Remembrance a publication of Since 2008

THEY GAVE THEIR TODAY FOR OUR TOMORROW

101st REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE & PARADE OF VETERANS Monday 11th of November 2019

Mosaic Place

Please be seated by 10:30 am The Service will be conducted by Rev Ron Cairns, Padre Legion Branch 59 PARADE OF VETERANS Following the service, we invite ALL Veterans who are able, and wish to do so, to join the Legion Colour Party at the corner of 2nd Ave NW & High St W (by Minute Muffler) to march in the Parade of Veterans.

OPEN HOUSE at the Royal Canadian Legion Lounge, 268 High St W (adults only), following the service and parade.

Light lunch will be served.

Cadets & Scouts are invited to go upstairs to the auditorium for refreshments.

“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”

THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION 101 YEAR REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE 1919-2019

The Service will be conducted by Rev Ron Cairns, Padre Legion Branch 59 ARRIVAL OF COLOURS AND GUESTS 10:45

NATIONAL ANTHEM INVOCATION HYMN MESSAGE SCRIPTURE PRAYERS LAST POST MOMENT OF SILENCE ROUSE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE LAYING OF THE OFFICIAL WREATHS LAYING OF ORGANIZATION AND INDIVIDUAL WREATHS ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION POPPY FUND COLLECTION

If you are looking for a great place to meet new people and socialize, the Royal Canadian Legion is for you. The local branch, no. 59, dates back to 1925 and has been a popular place to socialize ever since.

Originally, it was a place for veterans to come and talk about their experiences, but the club has changed over the years — it is no longer known as a men’s club. Popular activities at today’s Legion include Friday night suppers, meat draws, a shuffleboard league, dart leagues, curling, and golf.

Of course, the Legion is not just about socializing; it is also about helping out local veterans through initiatives such as the Poppy Fund.

The money from the Poppy Fund goes to help local veterans and their families here in Moose Jaw. The Legion also supports youth via camps, scholarships, bursaries, cultural exchanges, and through programs like the Cadets.

In addition to these charitable efforts, the Le-

BENEDICTION ROYAL ANTHEM DEPARTURE OF COLOURS AND GUESTS

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59 lounge will be open following the service. Lunch will be available.

Adults only. PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION. We appreciate your support

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gion is responsible for organizing the city’s Remembrance Day ceremony. It also recognizes Decoration Day on the first Sunday in June.

This includes both a ceremony at the cenotaph in Crescent Park, along with volunteers placing hundreds of Canadian flags on the graves of veterans.

It is certainly easy to join; to become a member all you need to do is fill out a membership form and pay a reasonable fee. In fact, the rules are not as stringent as they once were; any Canadian citizen or citizen of an Allied nation who is 18 years of age or older is welcome to become a member of the Legion.

If you want to know more, you can always stop by and visit, even if you’re not a member. The club encourages guests — someone will be glad to sign you in. You’re invited to come down anytime. Feel like giving back to the community? The Legion can always use more volunteers.

The Legion is located at 268 High Street West.

For more information, call 306-692-5453.

Editor'sNote

It is with poignant hearts that we REMEMBER those who have died in battle for our freedoms and the veterans who still remain among us, the peace keepers of our nation and beyond, the military that continues to stand on guard and for all those in public service who assist in maintaining a quality of life here in our country, province and locally.

With grateful hearts we take this time to thank you

for your service.

Most of us have never endured the sacrifice of life or limb for another so it is that much more important to continue to keep mindful of those that have sacrificed and continue to do so.

Together, people all over our nation will gather on Remembrance Day, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to pay homage.

I consider it a great honour to gather together in community to do so.

If you are able, please make every effort to attend this year’s Remembrance Day Service at Mosaic Place. Let it be a time of reflection on the past and on how blessed we are today in this great country of Canada.

May the words of one of the greatest wartime leaders in modern history, Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) resonate in your heart and mind.

“Withhold No Sacrifice” “We have surmounted all the perils and endured all the agonies of the past. We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. We have, I believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage.”

—Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, 9 November 1954

TABLE OF

Contents

The Royal Canadian Legion Editor's Note Poem "In Flanders Fields" By John Mccrae History Of 'In Flanders Fields' Edna Jaques: The Answer To John Mccrae A Message From MLA Warren Michelson A Message From MLA Greg Lawrence Legion Flies Canadian Flag At Half-Mast To Honour Vimy Ridge Honouring The Heroics Of A Moose Javian 75 Years Later Soldier's First World War Wooden Cross Found Near Macrorie Private William Milne Hailed As 'Hometown Hero' Military Training Accident Killed Star Amateur Hockey Player Postcard Campaign Honours Moose Jaw's D-Day Dead Seaman Saw The Funny Side Of Life Serving On The High Seas Building At 15 Wing Honours Col. O.b. Philp's Contributions Pilot Dies In Crash After Completing Successful Bombing Mission Squadron Leader Was An Active Volunteer With The YMCA Some War Brides 'Surprised' By New Home In Canada A Flute, A Rock Star, And Vimy Ridge Saskatchewan-Born Soldier Killed During Ambush In Korean War Aboriginal Contributions Cannot Go Ignored Army Experience Instilled Discipline In Youth Centre Founder Korean War Also Known As The 'Forgotten War' Due To Its Smaller Size Distinguied Pilot Col. O.b. Philp Father Of Snowbirds Team Historical War-Related Art Exhibit Began In Moose Jaw Pilot's Expert Skill And 'God's Hand' Saved Lives Of Crewmen Women Aided War Effort By Operating Moose Jaw's Streetcars Female Veterans Face Same Dangers As Others On Homefront Japanese Bombed Hamlet Of Parkbeg During Second World War Moose Jaw Seaman Was First Canadian Naval Death In Korean War Little-Known Oriental Corps Contributed To First World War Effort Archives Contain Photos Of Community's Rich Military History From The Desert To The Prairies, Veteran Had Interesting Career English Communities Honour Pilot Who Died During Accident Quilt Of Valour Presented To 2Lt Justin Eddison D-Day Film Honours Everyone's Grandfathers, Says Director Robert Manley: Forgotten Hero

In Flanders Fields

3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 24 25 26 28 30 32 34 36 37 38 40 41 42 44 46 47 48 50

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

McCrae’s “In Flanders’ Fields” remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypes salient in the spring of 1915.

HISTORY OF 'IN FLANDERS FIELDS' The most popular and most quoted poems from the war, "In Flanders Fields" was written during WWI by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. On May 3, 1915, McCrae was inspired to write it after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. "In Flanders Fields" was first published on December 8th, 1915 in a London magazine.

On Saturday November 9, 1918, two days before the Armistice, Moina Michael was on duty in the reading room at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries’ headquarters in New York—a place where U.S. servicemen would often gather with friends and family to say their goodbyes before they went overseas.

After reading McCrae’s poem, Moina made a personal pledge to always wear the red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance and for “keeping the faith with all who died.”

As a result of its immediate popularity, parts of the poem were used in propaganda efforts and appeals to recruit soldiers and raise money selling war bonds. Its references to the red poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the Remembrance poppy becoming one of the world's most recognized memorial symbols for soldiers who have died in conflict.

In 1920, Anna Guérin—the French Poppy Lady—attended the national American Legion convention as a representative of France’s YMCA Secretariat. She was inspired by Moina Michael’s idea of the poppy as a memorial flower and felt that the scope of the Memorial Poppy could be expanded to help the needy.

She suggested that artificial poppies could be made and sold as a way of raising money for the benefit of orphaned children and others who had suffered greatly as a result of the war.

In 1921, Madame Guérin visited Canada and convinced the Great War Veterans Association of Canada (predecessor to the Royal Canadian Legion) to adopt the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in aid of fundraising; which it did on July 5th of that year.

The poem and poppy are prominent Remembrance Day symbols throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, particularly in Canada, where "In Flanders Fields" is one of the nation's best-known literary works.

Today, the Poppy Campaign continues to be one of the Royal Canadian Legion’s most important programs. The money raised from donations provides direct assistance for Veterans in financial distress, as well as funding for medical equipment, medical research, home services, long term care facilities and many other purposes.

Take time this year to remember the sacrifices of those who fought and those who continue to fight for our country’s freedom, on Remembrance Day. Attend the local service held here at Moose Jaw at Mosaic Place, on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. Please be there well in advance to be seated prior to service time.

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Edna Jaques:the answer to John McCrae

by Ann & Bill Heselton (2012)

Edna Jaques was born in Ontario in 1891 along with her twin sister. While Edna, a mere three and a quarter pounds (1.5 kg), was able to struggle along the road of life for 87 years, her young sister Erie, lost her battle at the age of six weeks.

Her father, at the age of twenty-seven had his captain’s papers and was the captain of a passenger boat that sailed from Collingwood to Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay). On the last trip of the season in late 1901 Captain Jaques had a harrowing time. For three days and nights they battled hurricane force winds and waves that continuously pounded his ship. When he arrived at Collingwood everything on the outside of the ship was gone - lifeboats, life-rafts, railings; windows were smashed and even half of the smoke stack was gone. After he pulled into the harbor all of his crew but one and about 60 passengers left their bunks having been sick as dogs as well as frightened and thankful to be alive.

It was his last trip.

Early in 1902 he received a visit from his cousin from Yellowgrass. They were laughing and talking in the parlor while the rest of the family were in the dining room where her mother was reading and the children were playing. Suddenly the folding doors between the two rooms opened and her father announced “We’re leaving Collingwood.” and then, taking a deep breath he said, “We’re going homesteading in the North West Territories…”(Saskatchewan). Her mother promptly fainted.

The family came west lock, stock and barrel, to homestead twenty-five miles south east of Moose Jaw, near what is now Briercrest. Edna was eleven years old.

Edna started writing about the age of seven. (It is said she started writing as soon as she knew that cat rhymed with hat and rat.) She had her first poem published in the Moose Jaw Times in 1903. She was 12 years old.

John McCrea was a poet, and physician. At the age of 41 he enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the first World War. He volunteered to join a fighting unit as a gunner and medical officer. McCrae wrote his poem “In Flanders Fields” on May 13, 1915, on an old envelope. It was printed late the same year in the “Punch” magazine in England.

In her own words, Edna, then 24, describes how she answered John McCrae: “When Col. McRae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” was printed, I memorized it.; then one day in the sewing room of the hospital the answer came like a flash of lightning. I screamed to the girl next to me “Give me a pencil quick, and paper.” She dug a pencil out of her purse and said,“I haven’t any paper.” I looked frantically around for paper but there was none there so I turned over a spool box (thread used to come a dozen spools to a box) and on the back of it I wrote my answer to his poem, as fast as my hands could write it, no thinking, no pausing, just words coming in as if someone was saying it.”

Some of her poems have gone far afield. “In Flanders Now” was used in a pamphlet form and raised over a million dollars in the United States in order to raise funds to restore a library in Brussels that had been bombed.It was also used at the first “Ceremony of the Unknown Soldier” in Arlington Cemetery near Washington and is inscribed on a scroll inside the chapel there.

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(1871-1978)

A MESSAGE FROM MLA WARREN MICHELSON Ever since I can remember, Remembrance Day has been a day of remembering the sacrifices of those who served and appreciating our freedom. I consider myself fortunate to have been born a few years after World War II ended, however my parents were strong believers in taking the time to appreciate and give thanks for those who served in both World Wars and the Korean war as well. There were eight children in our family, and we all attended the Remembrance Day Service every November 11th in the Lipton Community Hall.

Dad left the farm to join the Air Force when he was 20 years old. He trained as an areo-mechanic. Although he never saw action on the lines, he would talk about the friendships he established during those years. There were young pilots who left for the battle fields and never returned. He talked about incidents in pilot training where young lives were lost during training missions at the air base – all in the call of love for our Country – and Righteousness!

Some experiences he never shared until later in life, and even then, he was unable to finish them. The pain never went away.

Many of the friendships established in such dire times were friendships that lasted all his life. This comradeship came together with other young

men who were there for the same cause, and they lived and worked together. One spring my Dad stayed two days late on a 24 hour leave to help with the family harvest not completed the fall prior. He returned to base, going straight to the military security to turn himself in and face the consequences, only to find no trace of his absenteeism. Each morning one of his Air Force companions would answer on his behalf during roll call. They stood up for each other.

The stress on families was enormous. The call of duty for young men and women meant them leaving their homes and families to take part in a war, while the family life at home continued on with thoughts and worries about their loved ones. The concern was also felt through entire communities as the youth went off to battle. As the war continued and years passed, several names of local men became listed as missing or deceased. In my home town there were sons of neighbours that never returned. In the school yard there were trees planted in their honour and marked with the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

In our small town on Remembrance Day, a parade of veterans was followed by a Service with two minutes of silence. In my youth, as an Air Cadet, I was proud to march with my Air Cadet Squadron behind the veterans. It was a place of honour, respect and appreciation.

Today, as an elected member of the Government of Saskatchewan, I recall the pride of participating in the Legion Service in my home town of Lipton, and I humbly accept the honour of laying a wreath during the Remembrance Day Service at Mosaic Place on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan. It is a time of honour, respect and appreciation for those who fought and died. I look forward to seeing you there.

Warren Michelson MLA Moose Jaw North

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LEGION FLIES CANADIAN FLAG AT HALF-MAST TO HONOUR VIMY RIDGE A MESSAGE FROM MLA GREG LAWRENCE There is no more admirable task than to serve. Thank you to the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces, their spouses, children and extended family.

November is a time for us to look back at the actions of the past that secured our freedom and gave birth to Canada’s identity. It is also a time to remember the battles in which young Canadians fought not only for our security and freedom but the security and freedom of those abroad.

2019 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. This year in particular we pause to remember Canada’s role in the liberation of Europe.

We are reminded of the men landing at Juno Beach, in the face of the strongest defensive fortifications the world has ever known. Fearing for their lives and the lives of their friends, these men exemplified resilience, determination and commitment to duty.

In the weeks and months that followed, Canadian soldiers proved themselves as they drove through northern France. Along the way they suffered losses and atrocities but kept going. They were pivotal in freeing the Netherlands, cementing our country’s reputation in the hearts of millions of people in the process. Not only were they liberating the people of Europe from a vicious ideology and dictatorship, they were safeguarding our country and our people back home from a similar fate. We must never forget this commitment to service and sacrifice.

Valour, courage, hard work, determination and commitment; these are the qualities that were on display amongst the Canadian men and wom-

en who served and fought on battlefields around the world, and have served closer to home. They are the same qualities that are on display each and every day in today’s Canadian Forces.

On Remembrance Day, we remember those who served and sacrificed both decades ago as well as those serving today. We remember those who never came home and we remember their families. It is to them too – those who often carry the heaviest load quietly and proudly – that we owe a great debt.

We often take for granted our Canadian freedoms and institutions, our freedom to participate in cultural and political events, and our right to live under a government of our choosing. The Canadians who went off to war went with the knowledge that the values and beliefs enjoyed by Canadians were being threatened. By remembering their courage, service and sacrifice, we recognize the tradition of freedom these men and women fought to preserve.

One man truly captured the triumph and sorrow of those who served, and he put those feelings on paper as he sat in Flanders fields. Canadian John McCrae marveled at the beautiful sight of thousands of red poppies blowing peacefully, freely in a field that had once been the site of a bloody battlefield.

“We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved, and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields.”

It is because of these touching words that every year, a chilly November brings these flowers to life and warms our hearts. We proudly display the poppy in remembrance of those who risked everything so that we all could live in a land of freedom and peace.

Today and every day we will remember them.

Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The Moose Jaw branch of the Royal Canadian Legion joined other branches across the country in observing the 102nd anniversary of Vimy Ridge Day. The legion, along with other federal, provincial and municipal institutions, lowered the Canadian flag to half-mast on April 9th of 2019 to recognize one of the most important First World War battles in which Canadians fought.

On April 9, 1917, 100,000 soldiers from all four divisions of the Canadian Corps stormed the ridge in France during four days of brutal battle against the Germans. The capture of Vimy was a defining moment for Canada, but came at a great cost. Almost 3,600 Canadian soldiers died and more than 7,000 were wounded.

The Canadians had secured their reputation as capable, effective fighting men — a force to be reckoned with.

William Johnstone Milne, a soldier from Saskatchewan, was among those men.

According to a Postmedia story from 2017, Milne came to Canada in 1910 and began working on a farm west of Moose Jaw. After harvest in September 1915, he walked the 40 kilometres (25 miles) into Moose Jaw and enlisted with the 46th Battalion. He trained

with the battalion, while later that autumn he was sent overseas. He was transferred to the 16th Battalion in summer 1916. Pte. Milne

saw action in several battles over subsequent months, but his ultimate heroics were yet to come.

On April 9, Milne’s battalion took part in the attack. Early on, Milne’s company encountered enemy machine gun fire. Milne’s Victoria Cross citation describes what happened next: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. On approaching the first objective, Pte. Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on our advancing troops.

Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew with bombs, and capturing the gun.

On the line re-forming, he again located a machine gun in the support line, and stalking the second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun.

His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades.

Pte. Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second gun.

Milne’s body was not recovered from the battlefield. His name is inscribed on the Vimy Ridge Memorial.

The legion has asked all branches to fly the Canadian and legion flags at half-mast from sunrise until sunset.

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HONOURING THE HEROICS OF A MOOSE JAVIAN 75 YEARS LATER Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The Moose Jaw armoury building would likely not be named after David Currie if it weren’t for the former Moose Javian’s heroic exploits during the Second World War. Seventy-five years ago on Aug. 20, 1944, Maj. David Currie won the Victoria Cross — the highest military medal in the British Empire — for leading his troops into battle against overwhelming odds.

Currie was in command of a small mixed force of Canadian tanks, infantry and self-propelled anti-tank guns on Aug. 18, 1944, when he was ordered to cut off one of the main routes the German army was using to escape from the Falaise Pocket in France.

According to Currie’s Victoria Cross citation, the Canadian force was held up by strong enemy resistance in the village of St. Lambert-sur-Dives, with Germany artillery knocking out two Canadian tanks. Currie entered the village on foot and rescued the tank crews under heavy mortar fire while also checking out enemy defences.

The next morning, Currie led an attack on the village in the face of fierce enemy opposition. By noon, he had seized and consolidated a position halfway inside the village. During the next 36 hours, the Germans hurled one counterattack after another against the Canadian defences, but Currie had skillfully organized his defensive position and repulsed the attacks.

At one point, Currie single-handedly knocked

Lt.-Col. David Currie's name is inscribed above one of the entrances at the armoury.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio out a massive German Tiger tank, a most feared machine on the battlefield.

At dusk on Aug. 20, the Germans launched one final assault on the Canadian positions but were routed. Seven enemy tanks, 12 heavy artillery guns and 40 vehicles were destroyed; 300 Germans were killed, 500 wounded and 2,100 captured.

Currie then captured the rest of the village and

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We will remember them...

David Currie (second from left in front) is surrounded by other members of the Saskatchewan Dragoons in a picture taken sometime in the late 1960s. Photo courtesy Saskatchewan Dragoons closed the escape route for the remnants of two German armies. By sealing the exit, Currie brought the Battle of Normandy to an end after three months of fighting.

“Throughout three days and nights of fierce fighting, Major Currie’s gallant conduct and contempt for danger set a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command,” his citation added.

Moose Jaw armoury The Saskatchewan Dragoons’ Sgt. Steve Cox, a media spokesman at the Lt.-Col. D.V. Currie VC Armoury, thought it was impressive how Currie’s exploits were being remembered 75 years later.

“It’s incredible,” Cox said, especially since Currie had a smaller force. “He took on damn near two squadrons of Germans. The thought that he could organize all that chaos and hold onto that town is (also) incredible. It shows true calmness in all that action and true leadership.

“Every member of the Saskatchewan Dragoons is proud to have his name on the building.”

The Dragoons did not have an event planned on

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Aug. 20 to commemorate Currie’s Victoria Cross accomplishment. However, when the unit gets back together on Sept. 4 after the summer break, the commanding officer will likely talk about how Currie won the medal 75 years ago.

Currie was born on July 8, 1912, in Sutherland, Saskatoon — now a neighbourhood, but considered a separate community back then — and was the son of a Canadian Pacific Railway engineer.

His family moved to Moose Jaw in 1913, where he completed high school.

The armoury building was named in Currie’s honour in 1986 during a dedication ceremony.

He died on June 20, 1986.

Upstairs in the Sergeants’ and Officers’ Mess Room, a frame hangs on the wall honouring three soldiers — including Currie —from the First and Second World wars who won the Victoria Cross. Not only does the frame boost morale, Cox said, but it also shows officers the potential of what can be done on the battlefield.

“Training, when applied correctly, can save the day,” he added. “Although we’re very far from a world war, it shows good leadership qualities, combined with knowledge and training, can turn any situation in your favour.”

SOLDIER'S FIRST WORLD WAR WOODEN CROSS FOUND NEAR MACRORIE Ron Walter Moose Jaw Express

During the First World War, a Canadian government program assisted families of fallen soldiers with their grieving and closure.

When requested, the government returned the customary wooden crosses from the burial field to the dead soldier’s family.

One of these crosses, still partially wrapped in original burlap and straw packing, rests in the Macrorie and District Museum.

The cross remembers Private Percy Murray, who was killed September 24, 1917 in France. He was only 18 years old.

Along with thousands of others, Percy and his brother, Brooks answered the call to arms to save freedom from the Kaiser’s threat.

Percy joined the Prairie-based Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry and was in the 107th Battalion from Saskatchewan.

He became trained in explosives working as a Pioneer building bridges, trenching, clearing mines, repairing wire and tasks involving explosives.

The 107th received 10 battle honours including Vimy, Ypres, Passchendaele, Hill 70 and the Somme.

Sometimes the 107th was known as the Timber Wolves of War. About 500 of the 900 men were of First Nations descent.

The 107th Pioneers were actually the beginning of the Royal Canadian Engineers.

On the day Percy died, three soldiers were gassed, one killed and two wounded.

His brother Brooks was killed March 1, 1917, the day of his 21st birthday.

Brooks was in the 54th battalion Canadian Infantry, Central Ontario

Cross for Private Percy Murray, killed September 24, 1917, rests in the Macrorie District Museum

Call your professional travel agent: This picture was taken just as Maj. David Currie and his small group of Canadians closed the last escape route for the remnants of two German armies in on Aug. 20, 1944. Currie (second from left) earned a Victoria Cross for this action.

Photo courtesy Canadian Encyclopedia

Regiment.

The brothers were the only two of 24 Macrorie soldiers who never returned from this war and they were among 60,000 Canadians killed in this war.

The sons of 1906 homesteaders John and Margaret Murray, the two brothers were from a family of nine boys and two girls.

Both are buried in Pas de Calais, France, in different war cemeteries.

The cross was on the Murray farm and wound up in the hands of Shandor Faludi, a Delisle resident, who served in the 3rd Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry.

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PRIVATE WILLIAM MILNE HAILED AS 'HOMETOWN HERO' Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The City of Moose Jaw and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch hosted a dedication ceremony for Private William Johnstone Milne at the William Milne Place in 2017.

A monument was unveiled in Pte. Milne’s honour for his valiant sacrifices and saving the lives of many Canadian armed forces, after he single-handedly disabled two German guns. A host of dignitaries came out to celebrate and honor Pte. Milne, hailing him as a ‘hometown hero’.

The service commemoration was a plaque in honour of Pte. William Milne VC, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for Valour at Vimy Ridge, France on April 9th 1917. The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 59 Moose Jaw hosted a memorial service, following the unveiling, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Posthumously, the Victoria Cross—Britain’s highest honour was at awarded alone. This monument here in Moose Jaw is a welcome addition to the efforts to honour his sacrifice. It was a wonderful idea to name this residence in his honour.

The dedication service project is one that blossomed from the Youth Advisory Committee’s (YAC) desire to recognize William Milne at the building designated as a heritage site, through some external signage to a ceremony involving the Legion, the Lieutenant Governor and others who wanted to help out.

Pte. William Johnstone Milne Background: William Milne was born Dec. 21, 1892 in Scotland. Milne attended Newmains Public School before moving to Canada in 1910. He worked as a farmhand near Moose Jaw, Sask., and in September 1915 enlisted in the army. By June the following year he was in France as a member of 16th Bn. of the Canadian Scottish. - See more at: https://legionmagazine.com/en/2004/11/vimy-and-more/#sthash.JBZLLnd5.dpuf Early during the assault on Vimy Ridge, Milne—

Pte. William Johnstone Milne monument at the William Milne Place on 136 Fairford St. W. with a bag of hand grenades slung over his shoulder—was in the vanguard of the 16th Bn. advance through a sea of mud and shell holes filled with water. The soldiers were heading toward its two objectives, the Zwolfer-Graben and Zwischen-Stellung dugouts. As the Canadians neared the first objective, they were met with ferocious machine-gun fire that forced them to take shelter in the muddy shell holes. Milne spotted the gun, sprang from his shell hole and then crawled forward under fire. When he came within range, he leapt to his feet and lobbed several grenades into the midst of the gun crew, killing some, wounding others and putting the gun out of action. He then seized the gun, and this enabled the battalion to overcome the Zwolfer-Gra-

The Honourable Vaughn Solomon Schofield, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan lays a wreath at the Vimy Memorial ben, take prisoners from the dugout, and kill anyone resisting. The battalion charged the second objective, the Zwischen-Stellung dugout. Once again they were held up by fierce machine-gun fire, but this time it came from a concrete emplacement hidden by a haystack. Milne repeated his previous performance, crawling forward until he drew within range. He then rose to his feet and threw grenades that killed the crew and silenced the gun. This time when he went to seize the weapon the entire garrison surrendered to him. However, Milne did not live long enough to enjoy the accomplishment. During the advance, he was last seen falling behind a small knoll after being struck by enemy fire. He was never seen again and his body was never found.

MILITARY TRAINING ACCIDENT KILLED STAR AMATEUR HOCKY PLAYER Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

The Regina Rangers, champions of the Allan Cup for 1940-41, gather for a team picture.

James Stanley (Stan) Bladon is fourth from left in the back row. Photo courtesy Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame Pilot Officer James Stanley (Stan) Bladon was considered one of the finest amateur hockey players in Saskatchewan, but he would never touch a hockey stick again after he was killed in a training accident.

Bladon, service number J/11016, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAC), was born to James Allan and Bessie Jane Bladon on Oct. 6, 1918 in Dauphin, Man., and was the brother to Opal Irene, Martha Annie, and Verna May. He enlisted in Regina on May 28, 1941. At the time he was an employee of the Imperial Oil Company Limited.

Bladon had been a member of the famous Regina Rangers hockey team, which won the Allan Cup in 1940-41. According to an article in the Moose Jaw Times-Herald on July 26, 1942, Bladon was “rated

as one of the finest back-checkers in amateur hockey, and a strong skating gentleman athlete.”

After marrying Audrey Louise of Portage la Prairie, Man., early in the 1940-41 hockey season, Bladon, 23, then enlisted in the RCAF, receiving his training at No. 32 Service Flying Training School in Moose Jaw. He later played with the flight school’s Royal Air Force hockey team during the 1941-42 season in Saskatchewan intermediate playoffs.

Once he had received his pilot’s wings, Bladon was sent to No. 10 SFTS in Dauphin, Man., to help train other students. The hockey star was on a routine instructional flight on July 24, 1942, as a pilot of a twin-engine Cessna Crane Trainer, along with student Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Gordon Harold

Cabush of Edmonton, when they were killed in a plane crash near the small Manitoba town.

The cause of the crash that took the lives of the two airmen was unknown at the time, the news article reported, but an inquiry would be held soon.

The inquiry later determined bad weather brought down the airplane.

Cabush, 21, service No. R/121935, RCAF, was the son of Julius and Carrie Cabush of Edmonton. He is buried in the Edmonton (Beechmount) Cemetery.

Bladon is buried in the Portage La Prairie (Hillside) Cemetery.

Moose Jaw’s 32 SFTS was part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) program, which sought to train aircrews away from the European battlefields and in locations where the Second World War would not interfere.

Schools and bases were established in 231 locations across Canada. From early 1940 until 1945, Canada trained 131,500 personnel. Airmen were sent to SFTS bases for 16 weeks. For the first eight weeks trainees were part of an intermediate training squadron; for the next six weeks an advanced training squadron; for the final two weeks trained at a bombing and gunnery school.

The Moose Jaw airfield trained more 1,200 pilots for the air forces of Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand. Of those airmen trained, five received the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions during the war.

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Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Gordon Harold Cabush was also killed in the same plane crash as Bladon. An investigation later revealed poor weather took down the plane. Photo submitted

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POSTCARD CAMPAIGN HONOURS MOOSE JAW'S D-DAY DEAD Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Moose Jaw soldiers Roy Peebles Sr., William Gordon Williams and John Hilliard Noel Butler stormed Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, with 14,000 other Canadians as they began to liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany, but all three men would be dead within a matter of days.

Williams, 23, a sergeant, was killed before he made it off the beach; Peebles, 22, a rifleman, died one day after landing on the beach, on June 7; Butler, 35, a rifleman, survived the landing but died two days later, on June 8. All three fought with the Regina Rifle Regiment, which was one of six units to land in the first wave.

In total, 359 Canadian soldiers were killed during the first five days — from June 6 to 10 — of what would become the Battle of Normandy, while 715 would be wounded or captured.

Peebles Sr., Williams and Butler are buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located 3.5 kilometres south of the village of Courseulles.

Seventy-five years since invasion June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Part of an overall plan called Operation Overlord, more than 156,000 Allied soldiers — Canadian, British and American — landed on a 75-kilometre

of homes across Canada linked to the soldiers who died. The postcards include the name, rank and age of the soldier linked to each address.

This is an example of the postcards the Juno Beach Centre is sending out to honour Canadian soldiers who died on D-Day, June 6, 1944, or days after. Photo courtesy Juno Beach Centre stretch of heavily-defended beach on the northern coast of France.

By the end of D-Day, the Canadians had advanced the furthest inland, and then fought off repeated German counterattacks during the next three days.

John Hilliard Noel Butler died on June 8, 1944, two days after landing on Juno Beach during the D-Day invasion. He used to live at 1065 Willow Avenue. Photo courtesy Canadian Fallen Heroes website To honour the Canadians killed on the beach or days later, along with this important milestone in Canadian history, the Juno Beach Centre in Courseullesser-Mer, Normandy, France is sending out personalized postcards to hundreds

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John Hilliard Noel Butler, 1065 Willow Avenue Born on Oct. 9, 1908, in Moose Jaw, Butler was married to Olive Butler and the son of William Hilliard and Elizabeth Butler, according to his attestation paper. He was a truck driver by trade, while he was affiliated with the Anglican Church.

Butler enlisted in the military on June 18, 1940.

Neither Butler’s home in Moose Jaw nor the actual house number exist anymore.

Two small buildings that were on the property were torn down so one large home could be built.

Brad Rose and his wife bought the property and the house at 1069 Willow Avenue five years ago, after moving from Moosomin. He knew about the two older structures but doesn’t know what they looked like.

The postcard campaign is an interesting way to reach out and focus on guys who used to live on these properties, Rose said.

It’s a good way to make people aware of the soldiers’ sacrifices, while the brevity of the postcard makes it simple and to the point.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 15 u

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(Remembrance is) an important part of our history,” he added. “If people don’t talk about it, there is the fear of it fading away. This helps bring it to light.”

William Gordon Williams, 444 Coteau Street West William, better known as Gordon, was born in Moose Jaw on Dec. 5, 1920, to William and Emma Williams, who were married in the United Church in 1910, according to the June Beach Centre website. Gordon was their only son, while they also had two older daughters, Mary and Alice.

Gordon completed Grade 8 and worked as a labourer for Smith and Parkhill Building Contractors. He enlisted in the military on June 23, 1940, in Moose Jaw at age 19. He trained at the Canadian Signals Training Centre and then joined the Regina Rifle Regiment on Aug. 16, 1941, as a rifleman.

He embarked for the United Kingdom from Halifax, N.S. with the 1st Battalion on Aug. 24, 1941. From November 1941 until June 6, 1944, Gordon rose through the ranks to become a sergeant.

Gordon was killed in action on Juno Beach on June 6. His mother received a telegraph eight days later informing her that her only son had died in service of his country.

For the past 10 years, Gwen Wendzina has lived in the 1917-era house that Williams once occupied. She thought it was pretty cool that he used to occupy the building.

“Before I bought the house, it had an oil-burning furnace in the basement. I wonder if he was the one to put it in?” she said.

Sending out postcards is a good idea since it’s a good way to promote the city’s history, Wendzina continued. It’s positive that these young men who died for their country are being recognized. She thinks the campaign should turn out well.

Moose Jaw soldier Roy Peebles Sr., used to live at 449 Vaughan Street West. He landed on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944 during D-Day but was killed in action one day later.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio Wendzina’s grandfather also served in the Second World War, but that is all she knows about the man.

“I think the next generation, they don’t know Canadian history a lot,” Wendzina said. She doubts that her grandchildren know much about the country’s military history; while they understand what Remembrance Day is all about, they don’t know much about any particular battle.

Roy Peebles, Sr., 449 Vaughan Street West Peebles Sr., was born on March 16, 1922, to Peter and Margaret Peebles of Moose Jaw. A member of the Anglican Church, Peebles Sr., was a student when he enlisted in the military on May 22, 1941.

Peebles Sr., was shipped to Britain with other members of

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This 1917-era home at 444 Coteau Street West is where William Gordon Williams used to live. He was killed in action on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. Photo by Jason G. Antonio the 1st Battalion and would later marry Lillian Doris of Salford, Lancashire, England. The two would produce a son, Roy Jr., but Peebles Sr. would never have the chance to watch his son grow up as he was killed one day after landing on Juno Beach.

Forty years later, CBC TV followed Roy Jr. from England to Regina as he looked for more information about this father. That news story, which aired on June 14, 1994, can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDX0wHrr9No. The house where Peebles Sr., grew up is now vacant.

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SEAMAN SAW THE FUNNY SIDE OF LIFE SERVING ON THE HIGH SEAS Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Of all the exotic locations Robert (Bob) Turnbull visited while in the navy, sailing through the Mediterranean Sea might have been the most memorable — or at least humorous — of his career.

There were a couple of times when he and the ship on which he served stopped in Naples, Italy, which allowed the crew to go ashore and shop. Several of Turnbull’s crewmates came back and warned everyone to watch out for gangs of pick-pocketing children who were intent on stealing their money and IDs. However, it wasn’t just the sneaky kids for whom the sailors had to watch out. “… All along the boardwalk going up into the centre of the city from the dockyard there was shops and you could buy stuff,” recalled Turnbull, 74. “This (crewman who returned had) bought a really nice radio and the (merchant) went in the back to wrap it up for him.

“When he came back (to the ship) and he opened it up, there was the box, but it had a rock in it,” laughed Turnbull. “He got on the loud speaker and announced all this information and said, ‘You be careful when you go ashore.’ That was a funny one.”

The Moose Javian’s other memory of sailing through the Mediterranean Sea was when his ship sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar and stopped to refuel. He pointed out the monkeys in Gibraltar were a hazard since they came close to the crewman and attempted to pick their pockets. Luckily, no one ever had any of their possessions stolen by the simians.

Bob Turnbull in his sailor’s uniform around 1964, about a year after he enlisted. Photo

by Jason G. Antonio

Robert (Bob) Turnbull, 74, served in the navy for 33 years. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Turnbull joined the navy as a cook in 1963 when he was 18 years old. He was interested in enlisting since he was a Prairie boy and the recruiters who came to his school caught his attention. With a laugh, he joked that he also joined since he would be given room and board and be paid to see the world.

Turnbull retired from the military in 1996 after 33 years; the last three years of his career was spent at 15

Wing airbase as the chief cook.

During his three decades in the navy, Turnbull served on the East and West coasts, while he travelled overseas regularly, including to England (three times), the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, the Caribbean, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, the Panama Canal, Seattle, San Diego and Hawaii.

During one exercise off the coast of Boston, Mass., Turnbull’s ship picked up a new sonar contact: the distinctive ping of a Russian submarine. The sub was headed back to Russia from a trip to Buenos Aires.

Turnbull’s ship followed the sub from the East Coast of the United States all the way into the English Channel about 150 kilometres from Great Britain.

The officers realized they had acquired all the information about the sub they needed and decided to turn around.

“That was a good (chase),” Turnbull said. “It was always (zig-zagging) because they could tell we were following ’em. They could hear our pings. We went exactly like they did.

“Being a cook in the galley, they didn’t announce sharp turns or anything, so you’d be standing there with a big (pot) of soup or something and you had to catch your balance,” laughed Turnbull. “That was an experience.”

Usually when a ship was on manoeuvres, it would be announced that it was going to make a turn to starboard or port, which allowed Turnbull to be ready, he continued. However, there were no such announcements when following enemy ships.

Serving in the military gave Turnbull a basic start on how to behave and how to respect others, he said. It also helped him create and surpass his goals, while he developed a solid work ethic. He was able to take those experiences and pass them along to his subordinates, an outcome that he thought was a great thing to see.

Lest We Forget

BUILDING AT 15 WING HONOURS COL. O.B. PHILP'S CONTRIBUTIONS Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Col. Owen Bartley (O.B.) Philp will be forever known to trainees at 15 Wing airbase due to his name being attached to one of the administrative buildings and a display about him in the main foyer.

In 1999, as the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program approached its implementation, several heritage initiatives were pursued to ensure the air force history and traditions were deeply embedded at 15 Wing.

One of those initiatives was the dedication of the new NFTC multi-purpose building to the late Philp, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Canadian Forces’ Decoration during his military career.

Philp’s name was chosen from several submissions based on his exemplary contributions to the air force, 15 Wing, and pilot training throughout his career.

Philp enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in November 1942, flying with 436 Squadron in the Far East in September 1944.

He went on to the prestigious Empire Test Pilot School in Farnborough and became the chief test pilot for the RCAF from 1953-56.

His career took him through Staff College and on to air force headquarters as inspector of air accidents.

Following his Sabre Course and OTU, he became the officer commanding, 434 Squadron, 3 Wing. He commanded one of the first

Philp’s original helmet is on display in the foyer. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

CFB 15 Wing airbase in Moose Jaw has a display that honours Snowbirds’ found, Col. Owen Bartley (O.B.) Philp, in the main foyer at the complex. Photo by Jason G. Antonio 104 Squadrons in Europe and organized and commanded the first CF-5 OTU. In 1966 he was selected to be the commanding officer of the famed Golden Centennaires, which performed throughout Canada’s centennial year of 1967.

From August 1969 to August 1973 Philp served as base commander of CFB Moose Jaw and it

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was during that time that he made his most significant contributions to pilot training. In 1970, in efforts to improve the efficiency of the instructor pilots, he introduced intensive formation practice and formed the world-famous Snowbirds.

In that same year, with reductions in Canadian pilot production, he saw Italian students arrive in Moose Jaw. They joined students from Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, all of whom were sending their student pilots to Moose Jaw. The year 1970 also marked the amalgamation of the Flying Instructors School (FIS) with 2 Flying Training School (2 FTS) to become the 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2CFFTS).

This change and many others that took place during Philp’s tenure as base commander are the foundation upon which the current Canadian Forces pilot training and the future NFTC program are built. These contributions to Canadian and NATO pilot training made him an ideal candidate for the NFTC multi-purpose building dedication.

A selection board at 15 Wing recommended the building be named the “Colonel O.B. Philp Complex.”

Information compliments of 15 Wing

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A hand-drawn picture of Col. O.B. Philp is also showcased in a display in the Col. O.B. Philp Complex building at the 15 Wing airbase. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The Col. O.B. Philp Complex is a large glass building holding some of the administrative functions of 15 Wing. Photo by Jason G. Antonio.

PILOT DIES IN CRASH AFTER COMPLETING SUCCESSFUL BOMBING MISSION Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

Considered a tall, skinny kid from Moose Jaw’s east side, Robert George (Bob) West worked in the community before the winds of war pushed him to enlist with the Royal Canadian Air Force and an eventual date with death.

The Final Flight West, a squadron leader, was a pilot in Squadron 76, Royal Air Force, and flew Halifax bomber LW620. He and his crew participated in a bombing raid on Laon, France on the night of June 22-23, 1944.

Reports suggest it was probably friendly fire that damaged the plane’s airspeed indicator and possibly damaged the outer port engine. However, the crew carried on to the target and dropped their bomb load for a successful mission.

After crossing the coast of England while returning to their base at Holme on Spalding Moor, the inner port engine began to fail. It was not seen as a serious problem since the bomber was empty and it could fly comfortably on three engines.

The desire was to feather the inner-port engine, line up in the queue and land without any problem. Pilot West did so and made his way into the circuit of planes to land. Suddenly the bomber

community, he worked at a grocery store that he eventually owned and managed.

Robert George (Bob) West poses for a picture with his dog in front of his house on Willow Avenue on Dec. 17, 1941 while on leave after graduating from the air force.

Photo submitted

crashed and all seven men on board were killed.

It was later determined that the inner port propeller ripped off and sliced through the fuselage, killing West immediately. Without a pilot, the plane went out of control and crashed.

West would never see Moose Jaw, his mother or his little dog again.

From Groceries To Planes Robert George West was born on Dec. 2, 1918, in Moose Jaw. After graduating from the Technical High School in the

With the Second World War in its second year, West enlisted on March 12, 1941, in Regina. It was reported in the personals section of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald on March 14, 1941 that West “… left on Wednesday morning for Brandon (Man.,) where he will join the Royal Canadian Air Force.”

West was awarded his pilot’s wings on Dec. 5, 1941, and was recommended for a commission as a pilot officer. As was customary for graduating pilots, he was given a 10-day leave pass and railway voucher so he could return home and visit his family. His parents, Walter and Florence Jane, lived at 871 Willow Avenue. Both were born in England but emigrated to Moose Jaw for a better life.

While West was home on Dec. 12, 1941, his mother snapped a photo of him and his dog in the yard of their home. That home is still there today.

It was later reported in the personals section of the Times-Herald on Dec. 17, 1941, that West “… left for Eastern Canada on Tuesday for a 10-day visit with his

mother, Mrs. Florence West … .” Waiting for West in Halifax, N.S. was his official paper commissioning him as a pilot officer, J/9141 RCAF. On the same train heading to Halifax were Moose Jaw airmen who had also finished their embarkation leave. They were all sergeant pilots, including Howard Harrower, Jack Whittaker and Kenneth (Ken) Brown. They all left on the morning train on Dec. 17, 1941.

Whittaker would, unfortunately, never see home again. He was killed in a flying accident on May 27, 1943, in England.

Also reported to be on the same train was Mrs. H.R. Hillcoat, sister to Brown, who was returning to her home in Virden, Man. Her husband was killed in the war flying for the RCAF. The men took a troopship to England, where they continued their training, first at an operational training unit and then on a heavy conversion unit, where West and others learned to fly heavy bombers.

West is buried at Stonefall Commonwealth War Cemetery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.

SQUADRON LEADER WAS AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER WITH THE YMCA Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

Pilot Bob West stands proudly in Halifax, N.S. after becoming a newly commissioned flying officer in December 1941. Photo submitted

Twelve days after Squadron Leader Robert George (Bob) West was killed in a plane crash after coming back from a bombing mission, the Moose Jaw Times-Herald featured an article about the pilot and his community involvement.

The headline in the July 5, 1944 newspaper read, “SL R.G. West is Killed. Was an Active ‘Y’ Worker.” The article went on to say that West had a three-year career in the air force that was marked by continuous successes and promotions. However, that all came to an end when West was killed on June 23, 1944 while on active service and after participating in air operations overseas.

“Leaving his civilian position as manager of Harvey’s West End grocery store, S/L West joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in March 1941. Upon completion of training at Macdonald, Man., Edmonton, Alta.; Boundary Bay, British Columbia; and Claresholm, Alta., he was commissioned pilot officer. A month later, in January 1942, he went overseas,” the article continued.

“Immediate success crowned his efforts, and in the summer of 1942, he was promoted to the rank of flying officer. In December 1943, he became flight lieutenant (Captain today) in March 1944, (and) after three years with the air force, he was given the rank of squad-

ron leader.

“Born in Moose Jaw, Dec. 2, 1918, the son of Mrs. W. West and the late Walter West, the deceased airman was educated at Ross Public School and the Technical High School (Peacock), where he attained enviable student records. An enthusiastic and popular figure in local sports circles, S/L West was especially active in the Y.M.C.A. where he was a group leader and prominent in basketball, gymnastics and swimming. The decade spent by the young flier with the Y.M.C.A. was one of valuable service to Moose Jaw youth, according to officials of the organization.

“For some years S/L West was a Times Herald carrier boy.

“To mourn his loss, besides his mother, the 25-year-old officer leaves a sister, Mrs. W. H. Ball, Vancouver, and two brothers, Lt. Jack West, Canadian Army overseas, and Thomas at home.”

The Moose Jaw Express wishes to thank community historian Richard Dowson for his contributions in providing information on this article and other articles about some of the military personnel from Moose Jaw who fought — and in some cases died — in both world wars and the Korean War.

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SOME WAR BRIDES 'SURPRISED' BY NEW HOME IN CANADA Joyce Walter Moose Jaw Express

If there were to be a bright light as a result of the world wars, it would have to be the arrival of war brides and their contributions to life in Canada.

By 1946, an estimated 48,000 marriages between Canadian soldiers and civilian women overseas had been registered, resulting in 22,000 children. By March 31, 1948, the Canadian government had transported 44,000 wives and 21,000 children to Canada, the majority coming from Britain.

As a welcome gift to Canada, the wives received a copy of Canadian Cookbook for British Wives, distributed by the Ministry of National War Service, women’s volunteers services division. The book was described as a guide to recipes likely to be favourite dishes of their new husbands in this strange land.

Our family was privileged to be friends with at least two war brides and one confided her trepidation to my Mother. The new wife said when she stepped off the train and saw the desolation of the tiny town, then learned she still had to travel to the farm several miles into the hills, she was ready to head not for those hills but for her home in England.

Instead she persevered “for better or worse”, managed to learn the unusual customs of rural Saskatchewan, raised three sons and became involved in her community.

When her soldier husband passed away at a young age, she adjusted again, remarried and became a much-loved member of the local Legion Auxiliary and is still remembered for her cooking skills, especially for her famous meat pies.

Her story is but one showing how war affected families at home and abroad. Our country became a better place because of the arrival of the brides, their customs and fortitude to make the best of the unfamiliar situations.

One of the recipes brought to Canada was one for a simple cake that was made without eggs. One war bride, research shows, made the War Cake, typed the recipe and with a sample of the cake, sold the combination for five cents and donated the money to the Red Cross.

Remember

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••• War Cake 2 cups brown sugar 2 cups hot water 2 tbsps. shortening 1/2 lb. seedless raisins 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. cloves three cups flour 1 tsp. baking soda Boil the first seven ingredients for five minutes and when cold, add three cups flour and 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in a little warm water.

Bake about 45 minutes in a slow oven.

••• Emergency Steak 1 lb. ground beef 1 tsp. minced onion 1/2 cup milk 1 tsp. salt

Remember...

1/4 tsp. pepper 1 cup Wheaties or 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs Mix and place on a greased pan and pat into the shape of a T-bone steak, 1 inch thick. Broil and serve hot.

••• In many parts of Canada during the Second World War, Victory Gardens produced thousands of pounds of fresh vegetable to supplement the meals of families at home. Care was taken to avoid wasting the seeds Victory Garden Chowder 1/4 cup mild drippings 3 medium onions, peeled and chopped 2 slices green pepper, chopped 2 1/4 cups cut green beans 3 medium carrots, scraped and sliced 5 medium potatoes, peeled and grated 3 cups boiling water 4 cups milk

2 tsps. salt pepper 6 oz. grated cheese Melt drippings in a soup kettle. Add onions and green pepper and simmer 3-4 minutes.

Wash beans and slice thin. Prepare carrots and potatoes. Add beans and boiling water to butter and onion mixture. Cook about 15 minutes.

Add other vegetables and cook 15 minutes longer or until all are tender. Most of the water will have evaporated.

Add milk to the chowder, stirring carefully.

Heat just to boiling. Add salt and pepper and grated cheese. Remove from heat and stir until cheese is melted. Serve hot.

••• Victory Chocolate Cake 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp. soda 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 3/4 cup dark corn syrup 1 egg, well beaten 1 sq. unsweetened chocolate, melted 1 tsp. vanilla 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk Sift flour, add soda and salt and sift again.

Cream shortening until soft. Add brown sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy.

Slowly stir in corn syrup. Add egg in two portions, beating well after each addition.

Stir in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk and stir gently to mix.

Line a tube pan 9 inches in diameter. Grease sides and over waxed paper. Pour in batter and bake in moderate oven for 45 minutes or until straw from a broom comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Cool on rack and then frost.

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2019-10-15 10:59 AM

A FLUTE, THE ROCK STAR, AND VIMY RIDGE Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The haunting melody of Amazing Grace floated over the noise at Vimy Ridge in France, performed on a flute with connections to a battle described as “the birth of a nation.”

More than 25,000 Canadians gathered around the Vimy monument on April 9, 2017, to commemorate the centennial of the First World War event and pay homage to the 100,000 Canadian boys who participated in the April 9 to 12, 1917 battle.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge cost Canadians 3,598 dead and 7,004 wounded. The battle was notable for being the first time all four divisions fought together.

As Brig. Gen. Alexander Ross — after whom the Yorkton legion is named — said in 1967, about the 1917 battle, “It was Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific on parade. I thought then … that in those few minutes, I witnessed the birth of a nation.”

The names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers are listed on the monument, remembering those men who died during the war and have no known grave.

Moose Jaw Connections After some research, it was determined that 39 soldiers who died at Vimy Ridge were either from Moose Jaw and area or enlisted in Moose Jaw. The soldiers include Pte. Robert Halls Atkinson, Pte. Robert Frederick Bourns, Pte. Charles Franklin Clark, Cpl. Harry Foster (Moose Jaw-born), Company Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Leggott King, Pte. Neil McQueen, Pte. William Johnstone Milne, V.C.,

RCMP and members of Canada’s military march past the Vimy Ridge monument on April 9, 2017 at the conclusion of an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the battle, which lasted from April 9 to 12, 1917. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Pte. Leland Stanford Ross, Pvt. Arthur Ernest Thomson (Moose Jaw-born), Pte. Maryon Seldon Caskey, Pte. Douglas McEachern, Pte. Peter McKenzie, Pte. James Brydon, Pte. William Cornelius Kent, and Pte. William Roy Hawes.

Also, there were Pte. Robert Percy Kissick, Pte. George Thomas Bird, Pte. Robert Younger, Sgt. T.A.H. McCroden, Lance Cpl. Robert Henry Lee Grant, Pte. Harry Edward Camp, Pte. John Apps, Pte. Walter Cooley, Pte.

Albert Edward Harvey, Pte. Arthur Robert Hopkins, Pte. David Laporte, Pte. Walter Arthur Parker, Pte. John McPhail, Pte. Albert John McRorie, Pte. Edward J. Nelson, Pte. Arthur Cecil Young, Pte. A. Philipps, Pte. William Henry Pollard, Pte. Albert Edwin Ramsey, Pte. Wilfred Whitford, Pte. Arthur Gamble, Pte. W. Thompson, Pte. Guy Pearse Stephenson, and Pte. A.B. Gamble.

The Vimy Flute Calgarian Ryan Mullens, 35, put his lips to the wooden flute and began playing Amazing Grace, as passersby stopped to listen or take pictures.

The flute — one of three — was made from oak trees connected to Vimy.

A century ago, after the intense fighting subsided, Lt. Leslie Miller scooped up some acorns he found under a half-buried oak tree. Almost every other tree had been destroyed.

He sent the acorns home to Scarborough, Ont., with instructions to plant the seeds. During the next century, nine acorns grew into tall oak trees.

In September 2016, a Toronto-area flute maker took the trees’ dead branches and crafted them into playable instruments.

“The story of the wood is the special thing,” Mullens told this reporter after the Vimy Ridge event.

As Mullens spoke about the flutes publicly, the Vimy Foundation invited him to play the instruments at Vimy

May we never

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William (Willy) McGregor listens to Ryan Mullens perform Amazing Grace on the Vimy flute in honour of McGregor’s brother, John, who died in the Second World War. John’s headstone is located in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

before the event began. For almost three hours, Mullens shared the story and performed Amazing Grace three times.

“I’ll be honest, it was amazing and challenging,” Mullens said.

While on a two-week pilgrimage of remembrance to Europe — a trip this passionate history buff also took — Mullens played the flute on former battlefields and in Canadian cemeteries to honour the soldiers.

“It’s a sacred instrument,” he remarked.

Performing at Vimy was challenging since Mullens couldn’t get near the monument due to tight security,

These two wooden cenotaphs were originally erected on Vimy Ridge in France after the climactic battle from April 9 to 12, 1917 in which Canadians prevailed. While the paint is peeling, the structures are still in good condition. They are now in the possession of the Saskatchewan Dragoons at the armoury. Photos by Jason G. Antonio

couldn’t find a quiet space in which to play, and believed the flute wasn’t meant to entertain people.

The centennial event turned into a spectacle.

“The special moment was laying (all three flutes) on the ground and playing (one),” Mullens said. “That is the promise I made to the flutes’ creator. They would be back where they originally came.”

The Vimy monument is a majestic creation mourning Canada’s war dead. Everyone should make a pilgrimage to the site at some point.

The Rock Star Joining Mullens and this intrepid reporter on the European pilgrimage was William (Willy) McGregor, 96, a Sec-

ond World War veteran who slogged ashore at Juno Beach three days after D-Day in 1944.

McGregor and an Ontario veteran were given the rock star treatment during the Vimy Ridge commemoration, sitting in prime seats under a tent in front of the monument and receiving attention from students, passersby and the media.

“It was a little overdone,” he chuckled afterward. “I’m not used to publicity. I’m just a common guy … It is an honour (to be here).”

McGregor was a front line medic with the 11th Field Ambulance during the Second World War. Honouring the Vimy Ridge battle was important since it was near the end of the Great War and many boys gave their lives in the process, said McGregor. Canadians should celebrate — or pay their respects — to this particular battle.

McGregor, from Bonnyville, Alta., never knew anyone who fought at Vimy Ridge while growing up, but met many veterans from The War to End All Wars.

“We haven’t learned a darned thing,” said McGregor about war. “There is still conflict throughout the world. It’s difficult because there are still people being killed every day.”

The Vimy flute factors into McGregor’s story too. His brother, John, was killed on Feb. 27, 1945, and is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Netherlands. Our historical tour group stopped at the cemetery, where Mullens — with Willy beside him — played Amazing Grace in front of John’s headstone. Many people were moved to tears over Mullens’ kind gesture for McGregor’s brother.

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SASKATCHEWAN-BORN SOLDIER KILLED DURING AMBUSH IN KOREAN WAR Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

Saskatchewan boy William J. Horning was born on a farm in the Tompkins area west of Moose Jaw and later moved to the United States, where he served with the army and later died fighting in the Korean War. Horning was born on Feb. 16, 1927 on a farm south of Tompkins. Not much is known about his family, which was originally from Michigan and homesteaded in the Stone District south of Tompkins. One headstone in the Piapot Cemetery reads: Albert William Horning, father, 1895 to 1935, and also includes son Cecil Earl Horning, 1931 to 2011.

Albert is said to have died when William was eight years old.

The family later moved to William, Idaho.

This is where Horning enlisted in 1950 and was later attached as a corporal to A Company, 76th Engineer Construction Battalion,

United States Army.

The 76th Engineer Construction Battalion arrived in South Korea in July 1950 and immediately began building military infrastructure such as roads and housing. The battalion’s motto was, “To work is to conquer.”

Horning was killed in action on Jan. 16, 1951 when North Korean troops ambushed him and his group from A Company while they were loading a dump truck in a riverbed near Chinan, South Korea. He was just 23 at the time of his death.

Nine men were killed during the ambush.

The bodies of all nine were sent back to their home communities. Those who died include: Pte. William David Bennett, Volusia, Florida, Pte. 1st Class Richard D. Brothers, Loogootee, Indiana, Pte. 1st Class Roland Edmund Christian, East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, Cpl.

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Cpl. William J. Horning grew up on a farm near Tompkins, Sask., west of Moose Jaw and later fought in the Korean War with the U.S. Army. He was killed in an ambush along with nine other men. He is buried in the Piapot Village Cemetery. Photo submitted Charles Edward Gardner, Gloster, Miss., Cpl. Gerald Francis Merrill, Mikana, Wisconsin, Pte. F. D. Parker, Carbon Hill, Alabama, Pte. 1st Class Marvin E. Stoy, Lancaster, Penn., and Pte. Roger Michael Tansey, Norfolk, Virginia.

Horning’s body was sent back to his home community near Tompkins. He is buried in the Piapot Village Cemetery along with family members.

The community is located east of Maple Creek and south of Highway 1 in the Rural Municpality of Piapot No. 110.

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We Proudly Remember

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ABORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS CANNOT GO IGNORED Scott Hellings Moose Jaw Today

During World War I and World War II Aboriginal men and women contributed greatly to Canada’s war effort, both at home and overseas.

At the start of WWI, Canada did not have an official policy on the recruitment of Aboriginal people. In fact, they were originally discouraged from enlisting, with some even turned away. That, of course, would change as the war moved on and casualty rates increased and, by 1917, recruitment events were held on reserves to encourage more Aboriginal men to enlist.

That same year, the Military Service Act introduced conscription, which mean mandatory military service for all British subjects of age.

Treaty Indians were not exempt, even though they did not have the rights of citizenship that obligated Canadian citizens to serve. Eventually, they were provided this exemption, except for non-combat roles within Canada.

But many Aboriginal men did want to fight. In fact, in some communities around half of the eligible male population enlisted. They enlisted for many reasons, such as earning a guaranteed wage, to travel, or for patriotic reasons. Not everybody wanted to enlist, however, and in some communities elders discouraged men from enlisting. Still, it is estimated that at least 4,000 Aboriginal people served in WWI (including 100 men from Saskatchewan alone) and approximately 3,000 enlisted in WWII (of which 440 came from Saskatchewan). The number of In-

F M S Drywall

uit and Métis soldiers is unknown because they were not counted in the records, and so these numbers are likely much higher. Many Aboriginal men also later participated in the Korean War. During WWI and WIII Aboriginal men and women aided the war effort on the homefront through donating food, clothes, and comfort items. They also purchased Victory Bonds and made generous financial donations to institutions like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, even though many families were struggling financially. Aboriginal peoples also got heavily involved in the Canadian workforce. During WWII, many Aboriginals patrolled the western coast, looking for signs of a Japanese invasion.

Some even provided reserve lands for use as airports, rifle ranges and defence posts.

Life in the military was difficult and there were many cultural challenges. Indeed, military life conflicted with some Aboriginal traditions’ military ranking and some Aboriginal soldiers were even discharged for refusing to cut their hair.

Aboriginal soldiers also faced challenges when returning to Canada. After the First World War, many veterans returned with illnesses like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and influenza. Others came home injured and this impacted their ability to provide for the families and communities.

As well, many Aboriginals were no longer considered “Status Indians” because the Indian Act

stated that anyone who was away from the reserve for four consecutive years would lose their status. Unfortunately, they were not afforded the same benefits as other veterans because of Indian Act restrictions.

At least 300 status Indians lost their lives in WWI and more than 200 were killed or died from wounds during WWII. Aboriginal soldiers earned a variety of decoration for their bravery in action. During WWII they participated in every major battle and campaign, including the Dieppe landings and the Normandy invasion.

Some, like Chief Joe Dreaver of Saskatchewan’s Mistawasis Cree Band, served in both wars.

During the First World War, he earned the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Dreaver re-enlisted at the start of WWII. He was too old to serve overseas, but remained in Canada,

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watching over prisoners of war in Alberta.

Of course, the late George Terry, a former Moose Jaw resident, was also a decorated soldier. Terry served in WWII and the Korean War as a medic, supply officer, and parachutist. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997 and also received 13 medals. Terry passed away on February 8, 2009 in Bow Island, Alberta.

Thomas George Prince was one of Canada’s most decorated Aboriginal soldiers. He served in WWII and the Korean War and was honoured with the Military Medal and the American Silver Star. During the Korean War Prince received the Korea Medal, the Canada Volunteer Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

Aboriginal men and women were vital to Canada’s war effort.

ARMY EXPERIENCE INSTILLED DISCIPLINE IN YOUTH CENTRE FOUNDER Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

It was a dark and stormy night in a small town in Bosnia and reservist Joe Dueck’s superiors had just told him to dig an ordinance trench by himself.

As a reservist, it was always a struggle for Dueck to fit in with the regular force members. He was usually given extra duties that others didn’t receive, such as burning the unit’s waste.

On this particular rainy night in Visoko, Bosnia — located about 40 kilometres northwest of the capital of Sarajevo — Dueck’s senior officers had given him a double shift and told him to excavate the pit while avoiding the enemy artillery.

An ordinance trench would allow soldiers of the unit to throw enemy grenades into it quickly or ensure they had someplace to put their own ordinance so it didn’t harm anyone. “I was fairly bitter at this tasking,� said Dueck. “And here’s where my rebellious spirit came out once again and I was very frustrated with the situation.�

Dueck, then 21, started digging, and after going down six feet, he came across what he thought was a potato. This seemed strange, he remembered, but he was so tired and wet that he kept digging.

As the rain washed away the mud from the potato, he kept wondering who would bury the root vegetable so far underground — especially since his unit was already entrenched 20 feet below the surface.

As Dueck picked up the object, he realized it was

Joe Dueck, founder of Joe’s Place Youth Centre, holds up an ancient mace head he found while digging a trench in Bosnia during a tour with the Canadian army in 1994. Photo by Jason G. Antonio an ancient medieval mace head used in battle centuries ago. Finding the mace head was awesome since Dueck always liked history and archaeology as a boy. “I remember thinking, that (discovery) was kind of God’s humorous way of saying, ‘Dueck, just shut up and dig. Do what you’re told to do. Listen to your authorities,’� he smiled. “And that was a good life lesson.�

Twenty-five years later, Dueck has used that situation — and other army experiences — to impart

wisdom to the youths who attend Joe’s Place Youth Centre. It has also allowed him to empathize with them and their situations.

Discipline Matters Dueck knew at age 18 that he was a rebellious kid who needed discipline and focus. He knew his drinking and partying would land him in trouble and he realized he needed to break that unruly spirit.

He attended Briercrest College after high school but failed all 10 classes. College administration suggested he take a leave until he sorted out his life. One positive from his time there, though, was he became a Christian and committed his life to Jesus Christ.

The young man understood that army training would give him discipline and focus. This didn’t bother him, since he had always been interested in military history and had played paintball regularly as a kid in Winnipeg and later Boissevain, Man. “I thought the army would whip me into shape, and wow, did it ever,� Dueck laughed.

Marching to a New Tune Dueck joined the Saskatchewan Dragoons in Moose Jaw in 1992. He then moved around Western Canada to participate in training.

Civil war gripped Serbia in 1993 and Canada wanted to send an army unit as part of a United Nations force. At graduation, reservist Dueck volunteered since a regular army unit was short members. He was placed with the 1 Princess Pa-

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tricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (1PPCLI) in Calgary, which was later attached to the Lord Strathcona’s Horse armoured regiment.

The group left Canada in May 1994 and was stationed in Bosnia for six months. The group worked with other international battalions such as the Dutch, Malaysians, Swedes, Finns and Brits.

Keeping the Peace Dueck and his unit were stationed in Visoko, a mainly Muslim town surrounded by Croatians and Serbians. The unit’s primary purpose was to protect the Muslims, but the latter had a coalition with the Croats. As long as the Canadians kept those groups from killing each other, they would be strong enough together to withstand the Serbs.

This would create a stalemate and provide some peace. “For the most part, it worked,� Dueck remarked, adding all groups could be welcoming or hostile depending upon the day. “I made good friends on all three sides.�

Orphans Everywhere The most memorable part of Dueck’s tour was interacting with all the orphans. When Canadian convoys passed by, kids ran after the trucks shouting for the soldiers to give them their supplies. “We would throw them our lunches as much as we could, give them as much candy as we could, but the saddest thing was the young children did want cigarettes and would smoke because it would dull the hunger pangs,� Dueck said, becoming emo-

We shall not forget

Where’s Waldo? Joe Dueck blends into the forest fairly well while on a training mission.

Photo courtesy Joe Dueck tional. “But I didn’t smoke so I couldn’t help in that way.�

The orphans also loved the Canadians’ technology. Dueck brought a handheld Sega Game Gear with him and turned the back of his M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) into a mini Joe’s Place Youth Centre. The kids usually tussled to play the games he brought. Dueck thought it was great to give them some hope.

Humorous — but Stressful — Experiences While Dueck was primarily a rifleman, his secondary roles were a track drive and anti-tank gunner. On one occasion he and other members jumped into their M113 and were told to pursue several main battle tanks that had been stolen from a compound. “I just remember thinking, ‘What on Earth are we going to do if we find them?’ It’s like a dog chasing a car,� he said. “What do you do if you catch them? An M113 is no match for a T72.�

Reservist Joe Dueck poses with a group of orphan kids while on tour in Bosnia in 1994.

Dueck and other Canadians were part of a United Nations force designed to bring peace to the country. Photo courtesy Joe Dueck Luckily for Dueck and his crew, they never found the tanks.

On another occasion, the Serbs had cut off the Canadians from most of their supplies, which meant the soldiers ate individual meal packs for a month. They weren’t bad, said Dueck, but they weren’t great either.

The supplies for the Dutch were also cut off. One day, the Canadians’ sergeant-major “arrived with some of the most incredible steaks bound for the Dutch officers’ mess that would simply go to waste. And we ate steaks,� Dueck chuckled, “for breakfast, lunch and supper for a whole week.�

Dueck and the 1PPCLI returned to Canada in November 1994. He stayed in the reserves a few more years but quit to focus on his growing youth centre. “I think the efforts we made (in Bosnia) actually saved lives,â€? Dueck added. “After the tour, despite conflict in the country ‌ a peace accord was signed in 1995.â€?

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KOREAN WAR ALSO KNOWN AS THE 'FORGOTTEN WAR' DUE TO ITS SMALLER SIZE Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

More than 26,000 Canadians served on land, at sea and in the air during the Korean War, which became known as the “forgotten war” since it received less attention than the Second World War and was originally called a “police action.”

Forty-two Saskatchewan boys died while fighting in the Korean War. Overall, 516 Canadian men lost their lives while pushing back the communist invasion of South Korea.

Background Japan controlled the Korean peninsula during the Second World War, but once the Japanese government surrendered in 1945, the peninsula was divided into North Korea — also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea —and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

In the early summer on June 25, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and attacked South Korea. In their initial offensive the communist troops took the South Korean capital of Seoul. By late summer South Korean troops were pushed back into a pocket around the port city of Pusan in the southeast corner of the peninsula. The situation for South Korea was grim.

The Americans took the matter to the United Nations; approval was given to form a United Nations force and the

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2PPCLI Pte. Morris J. Piche is helped to an aid station by Lance Cpl. W.J. Chrysler in the Kapyong Valley, during 27th Brigade advance on April 22-25, 1951. Piche and Chrysler survived the war. Photo courtesy Imperial War Museum

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Americans took the initative. Canada and 17 other United Nations countries joined the fray on Oct. 19, 1950.

The United Nations forces began action with a major amphibious landing at Incheon, southwest of Seoul, in mid-September 1950. Worried about their safety and what actions American General Douglas McArthur might take, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army joined the war on Oct. 19, 1950 on the side of North Korea.

North Korea borders China in the north along the Yalu River.

The Canadian Army Special Force was established in August 1950 for service in the Korean War. The first Canadian regiment to deploy to Korea was the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI). They trained in Canada and at Fort Lewis in Washington State, before being shipped out on an American ship in November 1950.

The Canadian troops were fairly “green” and continued to train in Japan and South Korea. They were finally deployed to the frontline in February 1951.

Troops from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and India served together. They later formed the 1st Commonwealth Division in 1951.

By July 1951 the front line settled at the

major offensive occurred but heavy fighting continued for strategic locations.

The country is hilly and the hills had a strategic importance. Canada lost many men killed on patrols near these strategic locations or when the enemy tried to take the spot. The most significant battles in which Canada fought were at Kapyong from April 22-25, 1951; Hill 355 (Kowang-San) from Nov. 22-25, 1951, and again on Oct. 22-24, 1952; and Hill 187 on May 2-3, 1953.

Hill 187 took a heavy toll on the Royal Canadian Regiment. It was Canada’s last major battle in the Korean War. An armistice was eventually signed at Panmunjom, North Korea on July 27, Paul Rubens 1953, which brought a cease fire — but Your King and Country Need not true ending — that halted the war.

You North and South Korea still remain in a state of war today since neither side Troops with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) deploy to signed a peace treaty in 1953.

South Korea in February 1951. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada

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Pte. Heath Matthews of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, awaits medical aid after a night patrol near Hill 166. He survived the war. Photo courtesy Department of National Defence

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DISTINGUISHED PILOT COL. O.B. PHILP FATHER OF SNOWBIRDS TEAM Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Col. Owen Bartley (O.B.) Philp served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in both the Second World War and during the Cold War. He helped found the Snowbirds aerobatics team and has a building at 15 Wing airbase named after him. Photos submitted The highlight of Col. Owen Bartley (O.B.) Philp’s career was the creation of the Snowbirds aerobatic team, a feat he accomplished with the same determination he displayed during his career and afterward.

Philp was known and loved throughout Canada and beyond during his 31 years in the Royal

Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The formation of the Snowbirds — officially known as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron — epitomized the skill, professionalism and teamwork demonstrated throughout the Canadian Forces.

Philp was diagnosed with cancer in January 1995, and on April 15, 1995, he died peacefully.

The Snowbirds made a special trip to Victoria,

British Columbia to salute their founder with a final flypast over Manor Farm.

He was honoured again in 1999 when he was posthumously inducted into the International Council of Air Shows Hall of Fame. In 2000 the NTO pilot flying training complex at Canadian Forces Base 15 Wing Moose Jaw was dedicated in his name, while in 2011 he was named to the Saskatchewan Aviation Hall of Fame.

Philp was later inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2015. His induction citation referenced his time flying in the Second World War, as a test pilot and squadron commander, the leader of the Golden Centennaires aerobatic team, the leader of an operational training unit at Cold Lake, Alta., and as base commander of 15 Wing where he established the Snowbirds.

The Early Years Owen Bartley Philp was born on Dec. 25, 1923, in Vancouver, the only child of Jessie and Bartley Philp. Father Bart flew for Canada as a pilot with the Royal Air Force in the First World War and was a ferry pilot for the RCAF during the Second World War. Owen enlisted with the RCAF during the Second World War on Nov. 25, 1942, at Winnipeg.

The moniker of “O.B.” stayed with him for life after he joined the air force.

Philp earned his pilot’s wings flying Tiger Moths

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The Snowbirds take flight during a performance in Moose Jaw. File photo at No. 15 Elementary Flying Training School in Regina. At No. 12 Service Flying Training School in Brandon, Man., he flew twin-engine Anson and Cessna aircraft.

In 1944 he was posted overseas, flying with 88 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. With the rank of flying officer, Philp joined transport command on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and at age 20 flew paratroopers during the invasion of Normandy.

During 1944-45 he flew Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft in India and Burma with the RCAF’s CONTINUES ON PAGE 27 u

436 Squadron. For service during those operational tours, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

A Career Continues Following the Second World War, Philp continued with the RCAF and served with 121 Search and Rescue Unit at Sea Island, B.C., and later flew with 112 Composite Flight at Rivers, Man. Then in 1948, he organized the Canadian army’s first glider pilot school.

He married Maeve Armour of Vancouver in May 1949 and they later had two sons and a daughter: Brent, Kimberly and Blair.

In 1951, he attended the Empire Test Pilots School at Farnborough, England and subsequently became a senior test pilot with the RCAF central experimental and proving establishment in Ottawa from 1952-56.

Upon graduation from the RCAF Staff College in 1957, he became a member of the Accident Investigation Bureau, Directorate of Flight Safety, at air force headquarters in Ottawa until 1961.

After training on the CF-104 Starfighter jet at Cold Lake, Alta., he took command of RCAF 434 (Bluenose) Squadron at No. 3 Wing in Zweibrücken, West Germany, part of Canada’s air division in NATO. Returning to Canada, Philp was chosen to organize and administer Canada’s centennial aerobatic team, the Golden Centennaires.

The team featured eight Tutor jet trainers, a CF-104 Starfighter, CF-101 Voodoo, two Avro 504K biplanes, the Red Knight T-33 trainer jet and two support T-33s. The team completed 100 displays in Canada and another 12 in the United States in commemoration of Canada’s centennial in 1967.

The Origins Of The Snowbirds In 1968 he commanded the original CF-5 Operational Training Unit at Cold Lake, Alta., and also conducted pilot training for the CF-104 program. In September 1969 he was promoted to colonel and posted to CFB Moose Jaw as base commander. He found that the Tutor aircraft used by the Golden Centennaires were stored on the base and might be used to form an aerobatic team. Philp

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then guided an unofficial group of pilots at the base in perfecting manoeuvres, eventually becoming the world-famous Snowbirds, 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, based at 15 Wing in Moose Jaw.

Three DC-3 Dakotas fly over the English Channel toward France as part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. Philp flew one of these on D-Day and later in Burma and India in 1944 and 1945.

Photos courtesy The Sun Helping With Air Shows In 1971 the Saskatchewan Airshow at CFB Moose Jaw was organized in conjunction with homecoming celebrations. At that time, the event was considered the largest one-day air show in North America.

Due to this endeavour, Philp received the marketing achievement award from the Marketing Executive Association of Saskatchewan in recognition of “the successful completion of a masterpiece of promotion, logistics, sales and marketing.”

Philp was posted to air force headquarters in Ottawa in August

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1973 but retired on Nov. 27, 1973 after 31 years of military service.

His logbooks showed he had flown 8,246 hours in 79 different military aircraft. With his wife and family he settled down to country living on his 20-acre property known as Manor Farm, Situated Within Sight Of The Victoria International Airport.

An Experienced Consultant Philp soon became an aviation consultant for private and government sectors. He was engaged by EXPO 86 in September 1983 to formalize an aviation concept for the exposition and later became aviation administrator for the corporation. In December 1984 he was awarded the Sword of Excellence by the International Council of Air Shows in recognition of being “The Father of the Snowbirds.”

In 1990 he was contracted by the government-sponsored Rendezvous ’92 group to create a feasibility study and propose appropriate air events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Northwest Staging Route. That corridor was used extensively during the Second World War to ferry American-made aircraft through the northern states, Alberta and Alaska, before eventually arriving in Russia.

Encouraged by then-Snowbird team leader Maj. Dan Dempsey, Philp and Bill Johnson, who was the team’s photographer for 10 years, wrote Snowbirds — From the Beginning, which was published in October 1990 to coincide with the Snowbirds’ 20th anniversary. The limited-edition book covered the development of the team and many of the authors’ experiences in air shows.

Through his extensive network of former air force friends and acquaintances, Philp organized and directed the Victoria air shows of 1989 and 1991, featuring the Snowbirds as headliners. Two years later, in January 1993, he was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of “his outstanding contribution to the military aviation history of Canada.”

HISTORICAL WAR-RELATED ART EXHIBIT BEGAN IN MOOSE JAW Larissa Kurz Moose Jaw Express

The Keepsakes of Conflict: Trench Art and Other Canadian War-related Craft historical exhibit was originally conceptualized at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery before embarking on its multi-year tour.

Guest curated by former MJMAG curator Heather Smith in 2016, the exhibit began taking shape as an examination of war-related craft for the 100th anniversary of the First World War. The term “trench art” denotes an admittedly limited perception of the types of work that Smith included in the final collection, as many of the pieces were not created in the trenches specifically.

Rather, the term is a catch-all phrase used to indicate any craft or artwork created by soldiers, civilians, prisoners of war that is related to an armed conflict or its consequences. Many pieces feature materials one would expect from the trenches — spent bullet casings, for instance or used socks discarded by soldiers.

Many other pieces are more intricate, such as the ship inside a light bulb crafted by a prisoner of war during their time held by enemy forces. Artwork from Canadian prisoners of war is far less common than artwork from German prisoners of war, as German prison camps were tighter with resources especially near the end of the war.

Some pieces were made as souvenirs for soldiers to bring home for loved ones. Others are carved statues done as a rehabilitation therapy for veterans or the wounded.

One of the feature pieces in the Calgary leg of the tour is a painted cowhide story robe telling the story of Corporal Mike Mountain Horse during the First World War. The story robe is the original, on loan from the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat, AB. The difference between trench art and works by official war artists is that while the artists were attempting to make their audience feel the experience of war, from a removed standpoint, items considered trench art are instead made out of the personal experience of war — with no deeper, psychological intent.

“It's a fascinating exhibition because it brings together artifacts from all over the country, from coast to coast,” said Jennifer McRorie, curator at the MJMAG. “It gives a real, personalized view of how those soldiers were processing the experience they went through, and you get the feeling that they were really yearning for home.”

Smith was intrigued by that concept and thus built the collection because she wanted to showcase the story of war through a different lens: less historic and more personal, emotional, practical.

“Heather was a curator that liked to create shows around little-known histories, and there hasn't been a lot written, especially in Canada, about trench art,” said McRorie. “She always wants to find untold stories.”

The traveling collection debuted at the MJMAG in 2016, before moving on to be featured in Red Deer, AB and Fort St. John, B.C. in 2017, and then in Medicine Hat, AB, Thunder Bay, ON, and Swift Current in 2018.

'Sacrifice Cross', brass and metal, collection of Nutana Legion, Saskatoon.

Frank Read, Saskatchewan farmer injured in WWI, created this embroidered peacock.

Ring with Artillery Symbol by Edwin Peall, after the battle at Vimy, 1917.

The exhibit was curated at the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery and debuted here in 2016 as a fall exhibit.

The exhibit was supposed to finish after its time in Swift Current, but continued requests prompted the MJMAG to extend its tour.

“I think people found that show really fascinating, and it’s great that it's traveled for as long as it has,” said McRorie.

“The Founder's Gallery in Calgary [told] us they had great responses [after the show was featured there], with a lot of interest from their audiences, so it’s good to hear that people are connecting to it in the communities it's gone to.”

The MJMAG website features detailed information about the exhibit, with more background on the pillars of trench art featured.

The Keepsakes of Conflict show has continued on its extended tour to the Fort la Reine Museum in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

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In memory of those who had the courage and devotion to fight for our country.

We will never forget your sacrifice.

'Wolf " soapstone carving by Barrett Fraser, who was injured in Kandahar in 2009.

Brass Frames by Charles Shawcross of Regina, 1917.

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Moose Jaw-area pilot Lloyd Albert Hannah and his seven crewmen arrived at Royal Air Force base Kelstern, England on Aug. 3, 1944, ready to battle the German forces in Europe from the air.

Accompanying Hannah to the new base were Sgt. G. Maynard, flight engineer; Sgt. T.M. Baird, air bomber; Flight Sgt. K.R. Strachan, navigator; Sgt. J. Soule, wireless operator; Sgt. G.E. Way, mid-upper gunner; and Sgt. J.H. Loughran, rear gunner.

They were part of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s No. 625 Squadron and were assigned Lancaster bomber No. LL956, which they affectionately nicknamed Queenie.

After adjusting to squadron life and training flights to assess their operational readiness, the crew participated in their first mission to Raimbert, France on Aug. 31, 1944, according to the website Aircrew Remembered. They jelled as a team during the next eight missions over France and one against Frankfurt, Germany.

The information for this article came from the website Aircrew Remembered. Hannah’s nephew, David Langner, completed most of the research while website members Jack Albrecht and Nic Lewis compiled the data.

By his 13th mission, Pilot Officer Hannah was considered sufficiently battle-hardened, so his superiors thought he could take a rookie pilot and his crew on a “second dickie” trip for a maximum effort bombing raid to Duisberg, Germany.

During the raid on Oct. 14, 1944, Hannah depended on his own navigator Strachan and rear gunner Loughran to keep him on track and the night fighters off his tail. For rookie pilot Sgt. D.R. Paige and his crew, “this would be a most memorable and insightful (operation).”

The funeral for Pilot Officer Lloyd Albert Hannah, of Tuxford, Sask., was held at Harrogate cemetery on Oct. 18, 1944. Photo courtesy David Langner Bomber command assigned 31 aircraft to attack Duisberg; Queenie was the 10th plane in line during takeoff. However, it crashed just after becoming airborne — the starboard inner engine caught fire — and killed Hannah and bomb aimer Flight Sgt. Lloyd Douglas Bennett. The other six airmen safely baled out.

From wheels up to crash impact, just six minutes had elapsed.

Meanwhile, the other 30 planes bombed the target accurately in spite of intense flak.

So how did this crash happen?

Langner acquired information from letters written by rear gunner Loughran and Lloyd’s late younger brother Harold, who died on Jan. 27, 1945 after suffering injuries during a similar air raid on Nov. 3, 1944.

An eyewitness account by an air raid warden described how

Lloyd Albert Hannah and his crew gather beside their plane before a bombing raid. Pictured are Flight Sgt. J. Strachan, Sgt. J. Soule, Hannah, Sgt. J. Loughran, Flight Sgt. J. Baird, Sgt. S. Way and Sgt. G. Maynard. Photo courtesy David Langner Hannah manoeuvred his crippled Lancaster to avoid hitting the villages of Fotherby and Little Grimsby. The bomber crashed in a field midway between the two communities. The impact and secondary explosions blew out the windows of a nearby farmhouse and greenhouse, and scattered debris everywhere.

“It is incredible that no civilian lives were lost and symbolic that the crash site is still marked by a pond that is visible on Google Earth,” the web article stated. “Out of respect, the farmer has not filled it in and it has been a habitat for carp and a rogue pike.”

The residents of Fotherby and Little Grimsby were so moved by the aircrew’s

We Will Never F orget

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Pilot Officer Lloyd Albert Hannah grew up on a farm near Tuxford, Sask., and later joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. His family moved to Moose Jaw in 1941. Photo courtesy David Langner sacrifice that they dedicated a memorial plaque to express their gratitude. The plaque is attached to the wall at St. Edith’s Anglican Church in Little Grimsby.

In a letter to his mother dated Oct. 19, 1944, Harold explained that the LL956 bomber had been grounded the week before due to higher than normal operating temperatures in the engine that caught fire. However, since the mission to Duisberg was considered a maximum effort raid, the allowable engine temperature for this aircraft was increased to allow it to participate.

Lloyd was taking off at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and was preparing to lift the Lancaster off the runway when one of the engines caught fire, Harold wrote.

“He did the only thing he could have done and got off the ground and immediately tried to put the fire out,” continued Harold. “This proved impossible and so he climbed as best he

could on three engines … . “(He) managed to get to about 800 feet and he told his crew to bale out, and he held the airplane level, but before he could get out himself one of the gas tanks blew up, and the airplane went straight into the ground, and all the bombs exploded and blew a hole in the ground about 60 feet across.”

Harold and his wife Gladys visited Harrogate cemetery on Oct. 18 to attend Lloyd’s funeral.

“Please don’t feel too badly Mother, if he had to die he died one of the best deaths a man could,” Harold added, “and by his sacrifice and by doing practically the impossible, he saved the lives of six men. My own ambition is to be half the man he was.”

Loughren wrote a letter to Lloyd’s wife, Margaret, also explaining how her husband died. He wrote that it was only due to Lloyd’s expert skill and “with the help of God’s hand” that he even lifted the plane off the ground.

“The fire got out of control and the skipper ordered us to abandon ship,” Loughren said. The airmen calmly baled out in seconds, but Hannah could not escape as the plane blew up and crashed immediately after they escaped.

“The … crew thought the world of Lloyd, and for myself, I lost the best friend a fellow could have in the air force,” he added.

The death of Lloyd Bennett was initially difficult to explain, considering he should have been one of the first out of the plane. But Langner’s research surmises he may have helped the others escape and then stuck his head into the cockpit to help Hannah.

“Fighting to control a mortally wounded bomber with his life

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A map shows where Hannah’s bomber crashed, near the communities of Fotherby and Little Grimsby. Photo courtesy Aircrew Remembered website unravelling before his eyes, it is quite likely that (Hannah) exhorted, ‘Lloyd, GO NOW!’ We will never know but by now the altitude for a safe bale out was lost in their slipstream,” the web article added.

Pilot Officer Lloyd Albert Hannah and Flight Sgt. Lloyd Douglas Bennett were the only casualties from the Duisberg raid.

They were both buried in Harrogate (Stonefall) Commonwealth War Cemetery.

FORTHEM FORNOW F R EVER

WOMEN AIDED WAR EFFORT BY OPERATING MOOSE JAW'S STREETCARS Scott Hellings Moose Jaw Today

Moose Jaw’s streets were once filled with streetcars — looking much like the current Trolley — but the war years proves to be challenging for the Moose Jaw Electric Railway Company.

The streetcars were traditionally operated by men. With men fighting overseas during WWI, a solution was needed. Before long, the Moose Jaw Electric Rail Company began hiring women — specifically war widows.

In March of 1917, Moose Jaw became the first city in Canada to hire a female streetcar conductor. She was described in the local paper as “the first fair fare collector.”

Unfortunately, the first woman hired was not named in a Moose Jaw Evening Times article. The writer did note, however, she was a war widow with two small children.

The paper added the company had received a number of applications for such positions.

Indeed, four other women were already being trained.

H.A. Dion, superintendent of the railway company, said the women would be treated the same as their male peers and would work the same number of hours.

According to historian Leith Knight, Dion did insist that women would not replace the men at the controls. Moreover, he insisted no man would lose his job but if they were to quit they would be replaced by a woman.

Knight writes that is unknown exactly how many women worked on the streetcars, but it was only a temporary solution until men returned from the war in 1918.

Streetcar on High Street

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FEMALE VETERANS FACED SAME DANGERS AS OTHERS ON HOMEFRONT Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

There were only two job options for young people in Dundee, Scotland in 1942: work in a munitions factory or join the military.

Faced with those choices, Margaret Alm decided that wearing a uniform was better than toiling away in a factory.

“I thought it was beneath my dignity,” laughed Alm, now a sprightly 96.

Born on Dec. 9, 1922, Alm — née Cargill — was 19 years old when she enlisted.

It was the middle of the Second World War and the Germans controlled most of Europe.

However, the year 1942 was also the high-water mark for the German military, as the momentum slowly began swinging in the Allies’ favour.

As for Alm, she joined the Royal Air Force’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF).

Although they did not participate in active combat, WAAFs were exposed to the same dangers as others on the home front. They were active in parachute packing and crewing barrage balloons, along with performing catering, meteorology, radar, aircraft maintenance, transport, and communications duties.

Alm was given the rank of Leading Aircraft Woman (LAC) and was made a bookkeeper in the equipment accounting section.

“It was something different I had to learn,” she said. “It was a different method of doing things. Sometimes the officers were not nice (to the enlisted people) … They thought they were the whole cheese and (were) dictatorial.”

However, her commanding officer, a Lt. Payne, was a pleasant officer for whom Alm enjoyed working.

Working as a bookkeeper was an interesting experience for Alm, who noted she made many friends from different places in the United Kingdom. There were four women — including her —in her office, while men made up the rest of the staff.

“It did have an effect on my life,” she said. “I was just glad to be alive. It was a difficult time to be a young person … It was a terrible time, but it was something we had learned to live with.”

One particular hardship was the food rationing, Alm explained. It was a scarce time

Margaret Alm, 96, served in the Royal Air Force’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War. She now lives at Chez Nous care home. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The Royal Canadian Air Force used this poster to encourage women to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in the Second World War. Photo courtesy Veterans Affairs Canada

The New Zealand Air Force used this poster to encourage women to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in the Second World War. Photo courtesy New Zealand Air Force Museum

and she couldn’t think of anything good to say about that aspect of her life.

Alm lived with other WAAFs in a barracks, but when given leave, stayed with her parents, William and Maggie, and sister Eleanor. Her brother David had joined the army and left home; he would survive the war.

“I was just always so glad to get my uniform off, just so I could be me,” she said.

Alm remained in the Royal Air Force until she was discharged in August 1945.

“When the war ended (in May), I was just glad to be home and out of the service … ,” she said.

“There was real celebrations (everywhere).

When you met people in the street, everybody was hugging you whether you knew them or not. They were just glad to see the war coming to an end.”

Margaret eventually married Andrew Alm

and she followed him to Canada as a war bride. A Canadian, Andrew used to work for her uncle in Fort William, Ont. — now Thunder Bay — on a mink ranch, which at one time Alm believes was the largest in the world.

“It smelled something awful,” she chuckled.

Andrew joined the Canadian army as a gunner in the 17th Field Regiment and was posted to the United Kingdom. Since he had the Cargills’ address, he asked Margaret’s parents if he could visit her in Scotland while on leave.

They begrudgingly said yes.

“And that’s where it all began,” she said beaming.

Andrew and Margaret moved to Fort William after the war, where he continued working on her uncle’s ranch.

Some years later, Andrew’s father came from Western Canada and asked his son to take

over the family farm. His father explained that if they didn’t come, he would be forced to sell his farm to strangers.

So, the young couple packed up their belongings and took a train trip west, where they settled in Kelliher near Melville.

“It was the biggest mistake we ever made,” she exclaimed. “I had (such) a comfortable house in Fort William.”

Her mother-in-law — who was of Swedish descent — was also not kind to her and resented her. She even asked out loud why her son had to go so far from home to find a wife.

Decades later, the Alms moved to Moose Jaw. For nearly 20 years, Margaret served as a librarian in the community.

Andrew died in 1995. Margaret now lives at Chez Nous care home.

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The hamlet of Parkbeg just west of Moose Jaw might be nearly 8,500 kilometres away from Japan, but that didn’t stop the Japanese army from bombing the tiny community during the Second World War. From late 1944 until early 1945, the Japanese launched more than 9,300 balloon bombs at North America as part of its Operation Fu-Go fire balloon campaign.

Despite the high hopes of their designers, the balloons were ineffective as weapons, causing only six deaths — from one single incident — and a small amount of damage.

The deaths in southern Oregon occurred when the victims decided to touch the bal-

However, on May 22, 1945, the CP was finally allowed to report on the balloon bombs.

“Defence headquarters announced today that unmanned Japanese balloons have dropped explosives in isolated locations on the western part of the North American continent and unexploded bombs may still be lying in isolated spots,” the story said.

The campaign of paper balloon bombs began in November 1944 when thousands of balloon bombs were launched from Japan and designed to explode in Alaska, Canada and the United States in the hope of setting forest fires. The campaign continued until

Military personnel analyze a balloon bomb found on Jan. 21, 1945 near Fort Simpson, NWT. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.

loon, causing it to explode.

Although the balloons had been riding the jet stream and landing in Western Canada for some months, the Canadian government did not tell the public about the bombs for security and censorship reasons.

“In any case of casualty, it will serve the national interest if the press and radio and all civilians will refrain from connecting such casualties to the enemy,” a Canadian Press (CP) story said.

April 1945.

Canada remained at war with the Japanese until August 1945.

The balloon bombers were dangerous. Six picnickers in Oregon were killed by one on May 5, 1945. It was after this that the government decided to lift the blackout on the information.

The news article — reported in the Moose Jaw Times-Herald at the time — contin-

This sketch of a balloon bomb appeared in the Moose Jaw Times-Herald on June 22, 1945.

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One crashed at Minton, south of Pangman, Sask. on Jan. 12, 1945. There was fear the children at Minton could have accidentally found the device leading to an explosion.

Parkbeg — the future home of Gainer the Gopher — was “bombed” on Feb. 8, 1945, when a balloon bomber crashed there. No one was injured.

The Times-Herald reported on May 22, 1945, “One prairie farmer said that he had seen a balloon come sailing over his home, travelling low under an overcast sky. He thought it was a parachute and hurried to his truck and followed it, believing a man forced to abandon his plane in the air probably would need help. A neighbour finally told him that the balloon had come down on his farm and had no passenger.”

The newspaper also reported, “Rural gossip has spread news of the balloons far and wide and one story said that a farmer’s main reaction to a balloon landing in his field wat that it probably would hinder him to getting along with his work in the spring.”

The balloon bombs were hard to detect on radar. They flew at 30,000 feet. Efforts were made to shoot them down but only a few fell to the guns of Canadian fighter pilots.

Some were shot down in the Aleutian Islands by Americans and Canadians.

Hawker Hurricane fighters were in storage in Moose Jaw and thought was given to deploy them around the West to strike at the paper balloons, but nothing came of that.

A Canadian fighter pilot shot one down over Sumas, British Columbia on Feb. 21, 1945. Another fell to Canadian gunfire over Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island, B.C. In spite of the mighty effort, few Fu-Go balloon bombs were shot down while they caused little damage.

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This balloon bomb crashed near Pine Lake, Alta., and was turned in at Delburne, Alta., near Red Deer. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.

ued, “Some may be buried beneath melting snow. With the coming of warm weather and the end of the school season, it is desirable that people and especially children living west of the Great Lakes be warned of this possible hazard.”

The balloons were described as “… grey, white or greenish-blue paper about 33 feet in diameter … .” They usually carried four 4.5-kilogram incendiaries and a 15-kilogram high explosive bomb.

On Jan. 1, 1945 fragments of the first balloon to crash in Canada were found near Stony Rapids, Sask. Forty fell in Canada in March 1945 making it the busiest month.

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Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

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JAPANESE BOMBED HAMLET OF PARKBEG DURING SECOND WORLD WAR

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MOOSE JAW SEAMAN WAS FIRST CANADIAN NAVAL DEATH IN KOREAN WAR

LITTLE-KNOWN ORIENTAL CORPS CONTRIBUTED TO FIRST WORLD WAR EFFORT

Moose Jaw-born naval officer John Louis Quinn was considered an exceptional leader among his crew, so they were crushed when he and two others became the first Royal Canadian Navy

The grave of a Chinese national, tucked among the rows and rows of young Saskatchewan soldiers who sacrificed their lives in war, seems out of place in the Regina Cemetery.

It is and it isn’t.

The marker for Lue Chen Tai, (1885-1920) represents an unfamiliar aspect of China’s legacy in the First World War. Lue was on a train to Vancouver being repatriated home to China when he succumbed to pneumonia on Jan. 18, 1920.

The train ferried members of what was called the Chinese Labour Battalion back from wartime efforts.

Chinese Battalion is a misnomer. Estimates of Chinese nationals recruited for labour range from 140,000 to 200,000.

When the First World War broke out, China was in transition from an empire to a republic. With limited military and fragile national authority the Chinese wanted to assist the Allies.

An Allied victory over Germany might see a return of German land concessions in Shandong province to China.

The Chinese government allowed recruitment of a labour corps. Ironically, many were recruited from Shandong province

Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express with files from Richard Dowson

Lt.-Cmdr. John Louis Quinn was born in Moose Jaw and grew up in Regina. He fought with the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and in the Korean War. Photo courtesy Department of National Defence

sailors to die during the Korean War. Quinn, a lieutenant-commander, was serving aboard the Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Iroquois off the coast of North Korea on Oct. 2, 1952, when he and two able seamen were killed in a surprise attack.

The Iroquois and the USS Marsh, a destroyer escort, were bombarding a

railway line on the east coast of North Korea on that fateful fall day. They continued their bombardment for an hour and then headed back out to sea.

There had been no shooting from any North Korean shore batteries until they turned to go. Immediately, a shore battery launched a salvo that bracketed the HMCS Iroquois. That was followed by an on-shore battery shell hitting the 3.5inch B gun turret.

Ron Whyte, a sailor onboard the Iroquois, told the Canadian website “The Memory Project” more of what happened. He was on another 3.5-inch gun and did not realize they had been hit. “… B turret was a new twin 3.5-inch American gun equipped with radar … ,” he said. “The idea was that they would be used to defend the ship from attack from aircraft. That never happened.”

“We’re closer than usual to the shore,” Whyte recalled of the incident, “shelling the mouth of a railway tunnel in the Sonjin area of North Korea.”

In what Whyte called a “ladder shot” he said, “They dropped one shell on one side of the ship, one shell on the other side of the ship and then dropped one right in the centre.”

The ships quickly came into range of the shore batteries and shelled them heavily.

The Iroquois was not seriously damaged in the attack.

Visit www.thememoryproject.com/stories/2834:ronald-whyte to read more of Whyte’s account of the battle.

Quinn was mentioned in dispatches posthumously: “Throughout the whole period of Korean operations, until his

Shells from a Communist shore battery splash off HMCS Iroquois’ port side in the October 1952 in a strategy known as “bracketing the ship.” This technique led to the death of Moose Jaw naval officer John Louis Quinn. Photo courtesy Department of National Defence

death in action, he set a fine example of leadership in his quarters. His devotion to duty, courage and cheerfulness at all times were an inspiration to the gun crews he commanded.”

Killed with Quinn was able seaman Elburne Alexander Baikie. He was born on Oct. 25, 1931 in Hamilton, Ont., and was the son of Bertha (née Chalmers) and was the half-brother of James Clifford McGregor and Urena Rosetta Wishart.

Baikie enlisted on Feb. 15, 1949 in Hamilton.

Able seaman Wallis McBurnie Burden died within hours of the turret’s explosion. He was born on Nov. 13, 1930 in Algoma District (London), Ont. Burden was the son of Frances Coulter of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. He left behind a brother and a sister.

Burden enlisted on May 17, 1951, at Ottawa.

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Helping the wounded was petty officer Ed Moslin of Spalding, Sask. Among the wounded was able seaman Gilbert Dynna, also from Spalding.

The bodies of the three men were “piped” aboard the USS Chemung, their supply ship. The HMCS Iroquois then proceeded to Sasebo, Japan where the Americans treated the wounded and the ship was resupplied.

Quinn, Baikie and Burden were buried in the Yokohama War Cemetery in Japan.

Lt.-Cmdr. John Louis Quinn was born on June 25, 1923 in Moose Jaw to Col. H.J. Quinn and Rosa Quinn. His father fought in the First World War and was awarded the Military Medal. The family moved to Regina soon after his birth and Quinn grew up there. He had one sister, Patricia Mary.

Quinn was enrolled in engineering at the University of Saskatchewan when he decided to enlist in the RCN and fight in the Second World War. He enlisted in Regina on April 2, 1942 and remained in the navy afterward, where he rose through the ranks.

The Moose Jaw native married Grace Lillian (née Merrill) of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. They had one son, Charles Patrick, of Armdale, N.S. Quinn received several medals for his service in the Second World War and Korea, including: the 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, War Medal 1939-45, Naval General Service Medal plus Palestine Clasp 194548, United Nations Service Medal (Korea) and the Korea Medal.

Ron Walter Moose Jaw Express

Men of the Chinese Labour Corps load sacks of oats onto a lorry at Boulogne while supervised by a British officer (12 August 1917) where Germany held territory.

Poverty and an offer of huge wages eased the recruitment process. Men signing up received a $20 bonus, food, clothing and $10 a month; part of it was sent home to family.

By comparison, in 1916 the average wage in much wealthier Canada was $31 a month.

For the mostly illiterate recruits the battalion was an adventure as well as a high-paying job.

Once recruited, the first Chinese arrived in Europe by ship. Sinking of a ship and loss of 543 recruits shifted transport by train across

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Canada then by ship.

In Europe the British employed at least 96,000 Chinese with another 30,000 used by France.

Their work was supposed to be behind the scenes, building support, helping the mule and horse transport with all the infrastructure supports in a war without motor powered vehicles.

The actual tasks put them in front line danger even though their contracts said they would not be deployed in or near the front.

An estimated 2,000 battalion members died, and are buried around Europe. Some are in special cemeteries.

Some died of illness caused by unfamiliar food and climate, some died of battle injuries.

Tasks ranged from unloading military supplies, handling ammunition, building barracks and support structures to digging trenches, to farm and forestry work.

The language and cultural differences led to confusion. On one occasion, riots almost ensued over one word.

The word Go in English sounds like the word Chou in Chinese. When an officer ordered battalion members to go they thought he was calling them dogs and they became angry.

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Not enough translators existed to cover all companies.

The companies of about 500 men each worked 10-hour days seven days a week, but received some time off for special cultural celebrations. After the war, France wanted to keep them working. Britain wanted them sent home as soon as possible.

Lue was in one of the last groups to head home.

China received some benefits from the battalion but was unable to make diplomatic gains during peace negotiations. The majority of battalion members learned to read and write. All had their first out-of-country experience.

Until the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the Chinese battalion was all but forgotten. Official attempts at recognizing its contribution have been made.

The battalion was the largest part of an unseen war effort known as labour battalions.

Realizing the need for a large non-military labour force, Britain raised one, followed by recruitment from India, South Africa, Egypt and British Empire colonial possessions.

The entire labour force reached 700,000 — equal to one-tenth of the military force size.

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ARCHIVES CONTAIN PHOTOS OF COMMUNITY'S RICH MILITARY HISTORY Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The pictures might be old and somewhat faded, but they tell the story of Moose Jaw’s military history and of the young men who went to war during the last 121 years.

Thousands of military pictures — along with newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, folders, letters and microfilm — are housed in the Moose Jaw Public Library’s archives room, a space that contains some important and valuable treasures.

These items provide an in-depth look at how the community supported Canada’s war efforts in such engagements as the South African (Boer) War in 1898, the First World War in 1914, the Second World War in 1939, the Korean War in 1950 and Afghanistan in the 2000s.

The library hosted an open house recently to showcase all the archival resources it has on military history, personnel, and the units and battalions based out of Moose Jaw. An edition of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald from August 1945 was shown on microfilm, while two tables were filled with enlistment records, fundraising reports, and perhaps most importantly, photographs of the men and battalions.

Reference technician Stephanie Jeanes was thrilled to talk about the artifacts, especially the photographs.

“They are quite interesting because most of them are from the First World War and they’re over 100 years old,” she exclaimed. The

Newspaper clippings and a yearbook capture moments of the history of the 46th (Suicide) Battalion. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

A microfilm copy of the Aug. 10, 1945 edition of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald indicates the Japanese government is prepared to surrender to the Allies. The library’s archives department has thousands of newspapers scanned onto microfilm, dating back to the 1890s. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

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A group of soldiers from Moose Jaw pose for a picture while training in Valcartier, Que., during the First World War. Standing, from left, are Ernie Alder, Fred Wilton, J. McLaughlin, Duke Hinckey, O.R. Reid, H.A. Powell, and F.P. Strachan. Seated in front are Jack Rhein and Lee Brayman.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio military enlistment records fascinated Jeanes the most since they are handwritten and contain every personal detail of every soldier who enlisted in Moose Jaw, such as height, weight, marital status and even religious affiliation.

“I think these are really cool,” she added. “…

But I like all this old stuff. Some people don’t think it’s interesting. I like this stuff because it’s (a) primary source. This is real. These are actual papers written over 100 years ago. And now we’re so used to seeing everything online or you can get a digital image of it.”

Jeanes also likes looking through the back issues of newspapers such as the Times-Herald

LEGION 2019 • PAGE 42 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

A scrapbook contains humorous pictures of soldiers in various situations. Photo by Jason G. Antonio or Regina Leader on microfilm. However, not all digital copies are of high quality since some newspapers were scanned in when they were old. Most from the last 50 years are clean and crisp, though, which makes for easier reading.

“We do have a lot of the actual (physical) newspapers, like tons and tons of them,” Jeanes added. “The earliest ones are the late 1890s.

I usually don’t let people touch them because newsprint was never intended to last long …

So usually I encourage people to use the microfilm. But I will pull them out (for particular groups).”

Former CONTINUES ON PAGE 39u

A picture from June 1919 shows soldiers from the 46th Battalion meeting at the armoury after returning to Moose Jaw. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

Hundreds of residents gather in Moose Jaw to say goodbye to members of the 17th Light Horse unit. Photo by Jason G. Antonio

The Moose Jaw Public Library’s archives department has thousands of military pictures that should delight most history and military buffs in the community. Photo by Jason G. Antonio Times-Herald columnist Leith Knight started take photographs of archival material with the archives at the library in the late 1960s. your phone or camera. Documents and clipThe archives contain more than 6,000 pho- pings can be photocopied for 25 cents per tographs, newspaper clippings, maps, high page. Photographs cannot be photocopied but school yearbooks, periodical magazine col- can be scanned and emailed to you. lections, Canadiana book collections, sheet The library also has access to Ancestry.ca to music, and personal papers of residents and help with research on family history. However, the website can only be accessed by using community organizations.

Anyone interested in accessing the archives computers at the library. can contact Jeanes at 306-692-2787. You can What should excite military fans is the ar-

Residents line the streets to say farewell to another group of soldiers marching to the train station and off to war. Notice the horse and buggy in the top-right corner of the picture.

Photo by Jason G. Antonio chives contain records of the 128th Battalion, armoury and the airbase, Jeanes said. Both the 210th Battalion, the National War Finance locations have produced many photographs Committee, and the South African War Veter- over the decades. ans Association. There is also information on It is important to save all this material so resthe 128th Battalion’s enlistment records, and idents in the future will know more about the plenty of photos of the 46th (Suicide) Battal- community’s past, she added. Looking at the ion, the 128th Battalion, 60th Rifles, 77th Bat- photographs also indicates how the commutery, 28th Battalion and the 229th Battalion. nity has changed since the 1890s.

One reason the library has so much archival military material is that Moose Jaw has the

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FROM THE DESERT TO THE PRAIRIES, VETERAN HAD INTERESTING CAREER Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

The Briercrest and District Heritage Museum is now in possession of the uniform worn by veteran Clarence Elwood Gibson, who worked as a labourer in that area and later sold cattle.

Gibson was born on a farm near Crane Valley, Sask., on Dec. 27, 1919. He attended Currie School from grades 1 to 11 and then worked at different jobs until he was conscripted into the Canadian Army for three months in the spring of 1941. He later joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in July 1941. He remained with the air force until he was discharged in April 1945.

While in the air force he travelled to Brandon, Man., for basic training, then chose to become a wireless operator air gunner (WO/ AG). He travelled back west to Calgary to attend radio school, then took gunnery at MacDonald Gunnery School in MacDonald, Man. He received his wings and sergeant stripes there.

After graduating, Gibson travelled to Truro, N.S., and became part of a crew — made up of two air gunners, a navigator and pilot — that stayed together throughout the war. He was in Truro for three months and then took the troopship Queen Elizabeth to England during a five-day voyage. He underwent more

The family of Clarence Gibson had his medals and pins framed as a keepsake and as a way to remember him. Photo courtesy Sherri Gallant training in Bournemouth, England. discharged.

From there, Gibson and his crew travelled to He later worked for an area rural municipality Oran, Algeria to serve at various air bases. by building roads. In 1946, through the VetThey later served throughout British North erans Land Act, he bought three-quarters of a Africa and in Egypt. section of land at SW 1/4-30-10-26W2, north Gibson was on leave in Canada when the war of Crane Valley. He farmed in the spring of ended in May 1945, so he was subsequently 1947 and later married Emily Youck from

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Veteran Clarence Gibson’s flight jacket was donated to the Briercrest and District Heritage Museum by his family as a way to preserve that piece of history. Photo by Sherri Gallant Spring Valley in May 1947.

The couple lived on the farm until 1959, when they moved to Moose Jaw and Gibson began buying and selling cattle for Albert Lister.

In 1963, the Gibsons sold the farm; he then

Airmen Clarence Gibson’s crew gather for a picture near their bomber. Gibson is second from right. Photo by Sherri Gallant bought and sold cattle on his own in 1968. called Sherri. For example, Gibson told his His operation was later incorporated as Gib- kids the dimple on his chin was from being shot down. son Livestock Limited in 1972.

Clarence and Emily had four children: Ryan “He liked to pull our leg and make us laugh,�

(1948), Rick (1951-81), Sherri (1953) and she said.

Gibson very nearly had a brush with death Wade (1955 to 2016).

Sherri explained that the family donated on one occasion. One day a fellow air gunClarence’s uniform jacket to the museum so ner from another squadron wanted Gibson it could be preserved. The family also had his to trade missions, since the other man had a girlfriend and wanted to see her badly. This medals and buttons framed for posterity.

There were several stories that Gibson told would be his last chance since he and his airhis children about his time in the war, re- crew were leaving. Gibson said no since it was

AND AWAY GO TR OUB LE S

D O W N T HE DR

bad luck.

Sadly, that other aircrew never returned from a later mission.

At the end of the war, the pilot of Gibson’s crew told them he never wanted to see them again. Sherri remembers her father saying he never did see his crew again; the family never knew the names of his crew or from where they came.

While the family had Gibson’s medals framed, the objects might not actually be the originals. Sherri remembers her father having a drink one night with his best friend and fellow veteran, John McDermott. Both men decided they did not want to see their medals anymore, so they burned them.

Clarence Elwood Gibson died in Moose Jaw on March 21, 2002.

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Veteran Clarence Gibson’s flight jacket was donated to the Briercrest and District Heritage Museum by his family as a way to preserve that piece of history. Photo by Sherri Gallant

LEGION 2019 • PAGE 45 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

ENGLISH COMMUNITIES HONOUR PILOT WHO DIED DURING ACCIDENT

QUILT OF VALOUR PRESENTED TO 2LT JUSTIN EDDISON Contributed

Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Two communities in England are honouring a Moose Jaw-area pilot who served during the Second World War and died while attempting to keep his plane from crashing into the villages.

Flying Officer (F/O) Lloyd Albert Hannah (pictured) and seven other airmen were flying in a Lancaster bomber as part of a 31-plane mission on Oct. 14, 1944, to attack the German city of Duisberg.

Hannah was the pilot of the plane. He took off from Kelstern Aerodrome in Lincolnshire, England, but it became immediately apparent that something was wrong. One of the Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 gasoline-fueled engines caught fire just as the plane was taking flight.

Realizing the plane was going to crash, Hannah, 26, ordered the crew to bale out.

Six of the eight men did safely; Hannah stayed behind in a successful attempt to avoid hitting the villages of Fotherby and Little Grimsby. He died after the plane — nicknamed Queenie — crashed into a field six minutes after takeoff. A second crewman, Flight Sgt. Lloyd Douglas Bennett, 26, also died after his parachute failed to open.

Both men are buried at Harrogate (Stonefall) Commonwealth War Cemetery in North Yorkshire, 26 kilometres north of Leeds in central England.

To honour the sacrifice Hannah and Bennett made, residents of the two villages held a service at St. Edith’s Anglican Church in Little Grimsby on Oct. 14 — 75 years to the day — to give thanks for what the men did, particularly for Hannah’s efforts in keeping the plane from smashing into either community. The residents also laid a wreath at the crash site.

Also in attendance was David Langner, a nephew of Hannah, who flew from Canada to attend the anniversary service.

“They have always been considered heroes because they saved the two villages,” Barbara Chester, churchwarden of St. Edith’s, said in an email, “and a plaque has been placed in Little Grimsby church to that effect.”

Memorial services have been held in the past, but this is the first such service on the actual anniversary of the crash of the Lancaster LL956, she continued. A similar service was held in May 1995 during celebrations in England to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (V-E Day).

This was when a plaque was installed on the wall of St. Edith’s Church. The residents of Fotherby and Little Grimsby recorded their thanks for Hannah’s efforts during that fateful flight on Oct. 14, 1944.

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“It is therefore vital that we honour the two Canadian airmen who died on this date, 75 years later,” Chester added.

For Langner, this was his second trip to England. He, his mother Leone, and his father visited Little Grimsby in 2008 but were unable to find the crash site. They visited Harrogate to see the graves of Leone’s younger brothers Lloyd and Harold, the latter killed in a plane crash just months after Lloyd died. She placed a Canadian flag on each of their graves.

Lloyd Albert Hannah was one of eight children born to Allan and Mary, and was later the husband of Margaret Lorene of Tuxford, Sask. While Lloyd and several of his siblings were born in Avonlea, they grew up on a farm between Marquis and Tuxford.

Most of the family later moved to Moose Jaw in 1941 and settled in a home on Alder Avenue at the corner of Ross Street.

Five of the children served in the Second World War. Two boys — Lloyd and his brother, Harold Allan Hannah — died while overseas. Both served in the Royal Moose Jaw-area pilot Lloyd Albert Hannah served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War and died on Oct. 14, 1944, after his plane crashed due to an engine malfunction. Photo courtesty Aircrew Remembered

“On September 25, 2019, 2Lt Justin Eddison was presented with his quilt from Elizabeth (Beth) Andrews, Representative SK – Regina, Quilts of Valour – Canada Originally from Newfoundland, Eddison is an Afghan Veteran, who is currently serving at 15 Wing Moose Jaw as an Air Traffic Controller. He stated that he is very honoured to receive the quilt and will treasure it always.

These quilts are handmade by many volunteers across Canada to provide comfort to our injured or honoured Canadian Armed Forces members past and present.”

More information on this program can be found at www.quiltsofvalour.ca

A plaque installed on the wall of St. Edith’s Church in Little Grimsby, England honours the crew of a bomber plane that crashed near the community on Oct. 14, 1944. Two of the eight airmen — including Moose Jaw-area pilot Lloyd Albert Hannah — died in the crash. Photo courtesy Barbara Chester Canadian Air Force and both are buried in Harrogate (Stonefall) Commonwealth War Cemetery.

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D-DAY FILM HONOURS EVERYONE'S GRANDFATHERS, SAYS DIRECTOR

FOR THOSE WHO LEAVE NEVER TO RETURN.

Jason G. Antonio Moose Jaw Express

Creating a Heritage Minute to honour the 75th anniversary of D-Day was similar to writing a card of thanks to the men who participated in the battle, according to the director.

Naughton, a First World War veteran and leader of the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment’s A Company. The video can be found at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-AuKXAftIts.

Smallville, and has nearly 20 years of experience in the TV industry — spoke to the Moose Jaw Express about creating the Heritage Minute short.

He explained he was honoured to have

A young actor waits in the smoke in Calgary’s Heritage Park during the filming of Historica Canada’s Heritage Minute about D-Day. Photo courtesy Historica Canada.

Historica Canada — well-known for producing one-minute vignettes about Canadian history — commissioned a Heritage Minute piece for the anniversary of D-Day, which took place on June 6, 1944. More than 156,000 Allied soldiers — including 14,000 Canadians — stormed five beaches as they took back Western Europe from Nazi Germany.

This particular Heritage Minute tells the story of 47-year-old Major Archie Mac-

Historica Canada’s new Heritage Minute short film pays tribute to Canadian soldiers who fought on D-Day. Photo courtesy Historica Canada.

Calgary-based director Chris Petry and his crew filmed for two days at McKenzie Lake and Heritage Park in Calgary, before spending the next seven months in post-production. The Heritage Minute was released on May 29th of this year.

Petry — who worked on all 10 seasons of the teenaged-theme Superman show,

We Remember

been selected to shoot the piece. It was extra special since his father and grandfather both served in the navy, while several uncles served in the army and were life-long service members.

Petry wanted to do a good job since he also has two young daughters about the same age as MacNaughton’s daughter when he

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was killed on D-Day. Petry’s main goal during filming was to honour Archie MacNaughton’s story, along with the sacrifices his family made. During filming, many people on the set — including main actor Michael Shanks — said making the video “was like writing a love letter” to their grandfathers.

While filming, Petry never knew if he was doing it right, he continued. He was simply following his creative instincts. While he could only gauge what they were doing by looking through the lens or at the monitor, he wanted to ensure they were creating a video that connected with people emotionally.

“I’m very proud of (the finished product),” he said. “I was proud with the way we were able to execute and touch all the bases of what the soldiers would have gone through, but really, to tell the story of one particular soldier (MacNaughton) … .

“I would hope his family felt the same because that really was the focus.”

The crew had to problem-solve in re-creating Juno Beach and the town inland. They filmed at McKenzie Lake, a man-made lake that is blocks away from Petry’s house. The team created concrete Czech tank traps and added smoke and barbed wire. Air cannons

FOR THOSE WHO RETURN BUT ARE NEVER THE SAME.

we remember

A behind-the-scenes shot from the shoot for the new Heritage Minute short film, which focuses on the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment’s A Company. Photo courtesy Historica Canada.

sent sand and explosions into the air, adding to the atmospheric effect.

The team shot from a hill looking down at the beach to ensure they didn’t record the playground and houses in the background, Petry explained. They also attempted to re-create the feel of soldiers running through the sand in panic and in fear.

Every aspect of the shooting involved meticulous accuracy, from the uniform patches, to the numbers on the landing craft, to the walls of the small town where Mac-

Naughton led his troops.

“We really wanted to honour the soldiers, but I think the piece was really meant to honour everyone involved, including the families and everyone who sacrificed … ,” Petry added. “When you stop to think about it, there was also a little girl (MacNaughton’s daughter) who had to grow up without a dad.

“I would hope by way of telling one person’s story really well, it would honour everyone (who) was a part of (D-Day).”

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Moose Jaw Express.com 32 Manitoba Street West Moose Jaw, Sask S6H 1P7 306 694 1322 www.mjvexpress.com editor@mjvexpress.com

It was a head on collision, high in the snow covered Rockies. The Korean Force Troop Train was travelling from Shilo, Manitoba to Fort Lewis, Washington when it ran head-on into the C.N.R. Transcontinental Flyer on its way from Vancouver to Montreal. It was 10:30 in the morning on November 21, 1950. The accident took place near Canoe River, 80 miles west of Jasper, in the shadow of Mount Robson, the tallest peak in the Rockies. It was 20 Fahrenheit degrees below zero in a lonely, winter-raked stretch of country.

Robert Manley was in the first car behind the engine. He had signed up to fight in Korea and he was with 300 men of the Special Force of Canada's Second Field Regiment - the Royal Canadian Horse Ar-

tillery, a unit of the Princess Patricia Light Infantry. Enlisted men were place in the wooden car behind the engine. Regular passengers and officers were in the metal coaches further back.

Robert did not have an easy life. He was born with a cleft palate; this created speech problems and inhibited his educations. His condition made him the brunt of school jokes and the victim of bullies. Before the train accident, he was int he army and taken the training. He was ready to go by 1950. But months earlier when he joined up, there was the promise of an operation; one that would "make him like others". He thought of how much better life would be; he dreamed of the girlfriend who would love him.

He went into the hospital before he shipped out, prepared to submit to a medical procedure. But when he looked around his ward, he changed his mind. The boy next to him was having his appendix out, and there were others in similar situations.

His circumstances were not the same. He was trained and he was ready for war. He

felt the call of his country and he had to leave. He could have the operation later.

He caught the train with other members of his unit.

The 17 Canadians in the wooden car behind the engine didn't have a chance. The frame crumpled upon impact and burst into flames. Those in the metal cars further back were spared. Robert Manley was found among the dead.

Robert did not die at the front, but he was killed because of his commitment to go to war. On that day in the hospital, when he decided to leave to go to Korea, he made every Canadian his friend. He said to us what no one in his school had ever said for him: "I care for you, I will fight for you, I am prepared to die for you."

The Korean War is called the "Forgotten War". It was fifty years before it was properly memorialized. On November 4, 2003, Art Manley, Robert's brother was in Ottawa at a Senate Ceremony of Remembrance. On Robert's behalf, he received the Memorial Silver Cross of Honour.

With special thanks to our advertisers who made this publication possible and in acknowledgement and with special thanks to all those that have contributed to this issue: Publisher: Robert Ritchie - rob@mjvexpress.com Editor: Joan Ritchie - editor@mjvexpres.com Sales: Wanda Hallborg - sales@mjvexpress.com Bob Calvert - sales@mjvexpress.com Gladys Baigent-Therens - sales2@mjvexpress.com Steve Seida - Special Sales Contributors: Jason G. Antonio, Scott Hellings, Ron Walter, Joyce Walter, Larissa Kurz, Richard Dowson, Bill & Ann Heselton (2012 copy)

Laurence Binyon, For The Fallen

The contents of this publication are the property of Moose Jaw Express. Reproduction of any of the contents of this publication including, but without limiting the generality of the following: photographs, artwork and graphic designs, is strictly prohibited. There shall be no reproduction without the Express written consent of the publisher. (rob@mjvexpress.com) All ads are published in good faith without verification, and the Moose Jaw Express does not under any circumstances accept responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of any ads or messages in any of the publications editions.

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