Leonard Birchall Honoured

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally posted by Jon Skagfeld
Carman...the "sigh" is in remembrance of RCAF lifestyle.

If you were never "in", you simply wouldn't understand. You had to have been there...have done that...and have worn the "T" Shirt at o' dark thirty....sigh.

Thanks Jon....
As one that served ,you would know the meaning of.."sigh"..
To see serving members in the early sixties with a chest full of medals of WW2 vintage was very common..
I think the most unusual situations occurred for me in Penhold ,Alta..
A long range radar base and a flying station for training pilots ..
Two radarRCAF flight Sgts. grew up together..joined up together...joined bomber command together..flew in the same sqn.together..different crews..were shot down and taken prisioner at different times..ended up in the same prisioner of war camp together..were liberated together and returned home..ended their carreers in Penhold together in 71-72....
Working on the same radar base...
On the same base at the same time, as a young Sergeant I had a Corporal that was a WW2 aircraft carpenter working on the MOsquito bomber..
and another Corporal ex Hitler youth member that ended up in a prisoner of war camp..was released and emmigrated to Canada in the early 50's ..joined the Canadian army as a RCEME dude and ended his carrer in Penhold ..
Oh the stories.....(sigh)...