Paul L

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...

Canada War Museum. Architectural brilliance.

Memorial Hall is a quiet public space for rest and reflection.

A Place to Remember
Spend a moment of quiet remembrance in the Memorial Hall. Notice that the concrete walls, grooved with large, offset rectangles, are reminiscent of the rows of white grave markers in Allied war cemeteries. The lone artifact is the headstone from the grave of Canada's Unknown Soldier, a simple bench the only furniture. On Remembrance Day, at exactly 11:00 a.m., sunlight shines through a single window to frame perfectly the headstone, lest we forget.


My Father was an RCAF WAG (Wireless Air Gunner) trained for Lancaster bombers. Wireless was old-speak for radio and gunner was top turret two 50-calibers. He passed away many years ago.



Corvette link? He bought me one in 1960...sort of. It was a go-cart with a 3.5hp Briggs&Stratton engine with a 1958 Corvette-style fiberglass body. I adored it. But it needed a valve job. Anyone remember valve grinding compound with a suction twist stick? Lapped by hand?

So, tomorrow I will remember my Father and the many brave souls who endured past and present wars. Both those who did not come back and those who did with physical and mental scars.

It was Vimy Ridge in WWI that began to define Canada as a nation. I shall remember tomorrow.

Mike Ward

Always the saddest day of the year for me Paul. I have the honour of being named after my late uncle who perished in the war. My father (age 87) will be leading the Legion ceremony tomorrow to place a wreath at the war memorial in their small town.

We can never do enough to thank them for their service.

stpman

Tomorrow I will remember my grandfather WO in the RCAF, he was stationed in Iceland during the war and spent some time afloat after being shot down in the North Atlantic

Paul L

I am sure you are very proud of your Father. And quite an honour for him tomorrow to lead the procession.

Mine served on the Commonwealth Graves Commission in 1946-47. He was a mechanic and charged with the task of dismantling destroyed field vehicles (tanks, etc) and attempting to identify remains for proper burial. As you can imagine that was a nasty job. He never spoke of it.

Paul L

Warrant Officer. Out of Iceland he must have been anti-submarine.

stpman

Not sure Paul I know he was a radio/communications, he retired while stationed in Trenton where my SIL is stationed now. There is a museum on the base (across the road from my daughters house) that I've yet to get to so I can try and learn more (he passed when I was about 12)

Paul L

National Archives can give you everything you want to know. Right down to medical records. You do need to know service number, etc.

It is ...I do not know what to say. Bizarre. I have written performance appraisals from 1939 when he was a very young man! Long before he was married. And long before I was born.

AGVI

God Bless them all.

stevelischynsky

My pop was in the Ukrainian resistance against the *****. He was caught because of an informant and spent the rest of his time In Dora underground factory building V2's by force. Amazingly he survived. Died last Feb at 91.

Steve L
73 coupe since new

Paul L

Les,

There were so many stories that he could have told but never did. My Mom hid them as well, but she knew the pain it gave him. Both are long gone now as are their memories. But tomorrow I will think long and hard about veterans and those beautiful women who supported them.

Paul L

An amazing story. Thank you for sharing! The V2s almost changed the balance of power in WWII.

doorgunner

He didn't tell you things like......having to put babies slaughtered by enemy soldiers into burlap sacks--then delivering the sacks to refugee camps where waiting mothers opened the sacks to find their dead babies....

That's an example of what Veterans kept hidden from their loved ones.....that's why the Veterans came home quietly---woke up drenched in their own sweat from the dreams they could never forget.

God bless them for caring so much.

bkvette3

God bless all the servicemen who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

briankeery

Thanks to the sacrifice of so many, we have the privilege of living in the best country in the world. Definitely a time for solemn reflection and thankfulness.

RUU

Well said.

stpman

Thanks Paul, I have his service number (I believe) and will be digging further. one thing I do have is a newspaper article with a picture of him on the steps of Winnipeg city hall receiving accommodation metals

MSGT-R

A lot of the newest generation aren't aware of the original significance of Armistice Day, now called Veterans Day. Glad to see it written in here.

Yesterday was the Marine Corps 238th Birthday; Marines have double to remember during this month. The battle of Belleau Wood was when they got their nickname "Teufel Hunden" or Devil Dogs by German troops.

71scgc

My Great Uncle was a crop duster pilot in South Georgia. Army Air Corps wouldn't let him in as a pilot as he hadn't attended a formal flight school. He enlisted in the RCAF. Flew fighters in the Battle of Britain. Came back, Joined the Air Corps, and flew through the end of the war, finishing with medium bombers, B-25s and 26s.
I thank the RCAF for recognizing him for the aviator he was, and giving him a chance to distinguish himself when his own country wouldn't.
Carter

P.S. Canada is the best ally the U.S. has ever had.

stevelischynsky

German techies would match parts for subassemblies because of tolerancing issues then send them off for the forced labor to install. The forced labor would reassemble these subassemblies to get them to seize up. Guards would shot on the spot if they got caught.

MSGT-R

Yeah, no kidding!