Sacrifice and service Second World War veterans with Manitoba connections lost over the past year
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/11/2020 (2105 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the Second World War. More than 45,000 soldiers were killed and 55,000 wounded.
According to Veterans Affairs Canada, as of March 2019, there were about 33,000 Second World War veterans still alive, at an average age of 94. That compares to just over the border where, of the 16 million Americans who fought in the war, fewer than 390,000 are still alive.
In recent years, the Free Press in recent years has published an annual list of the passings of the war’s veterans in Winnipeg and Manitoba. It’s not a comprehensive list; most come to the newspaper’s attention when war service is noted in family written obituaries published on our pages.
The list includes people who have died between Nov. 11, 2019 to as close to Nov. 11, 2020 as possible, given printing deadline requirements. It also includes people who died before Nov. 11, 2019, but whose obituaries didn’t appear until after Remembrance Day.
The list doesn’t include only Canadian soldiers who served in the army, navy and air force, but also veterans from other countries who later came to Manitoba, women who served in various auxiliary branches and conscientious objectors who served in other capacities.
This year we honour:
Nov. 2, 2019 — Robert John (Jack) Crawley, 94. Served on the HMCS Mayflower in the Atlantic and D-Day invasion.
Nov. 6 — Jack McNichol, 94. A member of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Nov. 7 — Alfred Jarmolinski, 100. Served in the Polish army.
Nov. 13 — Paul Adams, 99. Enlisted in the Canadian Army and served as a trainer of officers in Red Deer before going to England, and later France, as a member of the transport corps. He rose to the rank of captain and was in charge of logistics for the army in Paris at the end of the war.
Nov. 21 — Gladys Poneira, 94. An American who, after unsuccessfully applying to join the U.S. army, crossed the border and joined the Canadian Army, getting an honourable discharge a year later for compassionate grounds to look after her dying mother.
Nov. 24 — Bill Oliver, 93. Enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve at 17 after losing his brother in the war.
Nov. 28 — Ed Deibert, 92. Served with the Canadian Army for a short stint at the end of the war.
Nov. 30 — Ernest Copper, 97. Enlisted with Lord Strathcona’s Horse. His armoured division fought in Italy, where he was wounded three times, the last resulting in the amputation of a leg.
Nov. 30 — Alvin Trann, 96. Enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and served on the HMS Skeena, Ferret, Baddeck and Woodstock.
Dec. 7 — Jack Motyer, 102. Served in the RCAF (411 Squadron) arming Spitfires and he landed in France on D-Day-plus two.
Dec. 7 — Bill Hamilton, 102. Served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1941 to 1945.
Dec. 8 — Joseph Kelly, 93. Immigrated to Canada from Poland at the age of three and later proudly served his country in the war.
Dec. 9 — Bob Hopper, 93. Joined the Royal Canadian Navy at 17, spent time in Scotland and was posted in England.
Dec. 10 — Ray Brown, 94. Served in the Navy in 1944, and was on HMCS Discovery, Cornwallis, Halifax and Wallaceburg.
Dec. 11 — Bob Dale, 94. Served with the RCAF.
Dec. 17 — Frank Hewlko, 95. Joined the Royal Canadian Navy at 18 and served as an anti-aircraft gunner on the HMCS Quesnel.
Dec. 18 — Flora Prideaux, 99. Joined the army in 1943 and was deployed to England, being discharged in 1945 with the rank of sergeant.
Dec. 19 — Ralph Sotolov, 95. Served in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Dec. 22 — Bruce Sinclair, 93. Served with the Royal Canadian Navy from 1943 to 1946.
Dec. 26 — Gordon Smith, 95. Joined the RCAF at 18 and served in various postings across Canada.
Dec. 31 — Harold Matthews, 96. Served in the RCAF as a pilot.
Jan. 4, 2020 — Sylvia Thompson, 95. Joined the RCAF in 1943, and was stationed in Dartmouth, N.S., as a radar plotter.
Jan. 4 — Aldo Perrelli, 94. Lied about his age at 16 to join as a soldier in Italy’s Air Defence Artillery. His squad was ambushed and he became a prisoner of war for two years.
Jan. 6 — Jim McGinn, 97. Served with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Jan. 6 — Steini Palsson, 99. Joined the army in 1942 and served with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and was wounded on two occasions.
Jan. 9 — Andy Moffat, 93. Joined the Royal Canadian Navy on his 18th birthday in 1944, and served the balance of the war in the North Atlantic.
Jan. 10 — Walter Rudolph, 94. Served in the Canadian military as a teleprint operator in a variety of services overseas, concluding working on the war crime trial in Aurich.
Jan. 19 — Reg Parkin, 93. Joined the British Army, Royal Signals, when he turned 18 and served as a corporal in the Palestine Command Signals as a dispatch rider.
Jan. 22 — George Romanowski, 95. Born in Poland, he was in a Soviet work camp when that country joined the Allies and he was given the choice of staying there or joining the Polish Corps of the British Army. He chose the army and ended up in the battle to liberate Monte Cassino. He was wounded twice and once was saved by Canadian tank drivers.
Jan. 23 — Mike Brisky, 94. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy, including on the minesweeper HMCS Sarnia.
Jan. 23 — Raymond McMurray, 96. Served with the Royal Canadian Navy on the minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot, which was torpedoed on Christmas Eve 1944. Eight people were lost and the survivors clung to lifeboats, singing Christmas carols to keep up their spirits.
Jan. 26— Max Duchon, 94. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Feb. 2 — Joe Goyman. Joined the navy in 1941 and served in the HMCS Prince Robert, Stratford and Mahone.
Feb. 5 — Al Sinclair, 96. Joined the RCAF and flew Spitfires to defend England.
Feb. 7 — Alan Stevenson, 98. Born in England and joined the Royal Air Force in 1936, serving 15 years.
Feb. 8 — Jerry Montsion, 97. Enlisted in the RCAF at the beginning of the war.
Feb. 12 — Michael Reichardt, 93. Served in the Canadian military.
Feb. 14 — Harold Hughes, 95. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy on the HMCS Lanark as an Artificer with the rank of petty officer.
Feb. 20 — Mike Wolfson, 95. Served in the RCAF.
Feb. 20 — Stan Butterworth , 95. Served with the Fort Garry Horse in Europe.
Feb. 22 — Ken Runions, 95. Joined the army and saw action in Holland, staying in Berlin until 1947.
March 1 — Romeo Therrien, 94. He was a Second World War veteran.
March 6 — John Rousseau, 95. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy and survived the torpedoing of the HMS Nabob in August 1944.
March 8 — Richard Sellen, 99. Became a bomber pilot with the RCAF, flew 39 missions for four years, and left the military with the rank of flying officer.
March 10 — Joseph Bourgeois, 93. Served on the ship HMCS Malpeck.
March 13 — Sylvia Henault, 94. Joined the Royal Canadian Navy at HMCS Chippewa as a member of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS) in 1944 and served at HMCS Bytown and HMCS Carleton in Ottawa.
March 16 — Johan (John) Penner, 96. Served as a conscientious objector in the medical corps.
March 16 — Dick Mellor, 95. Served in the Canadian Armed Forces.
March 24 — Alma Carson, 98. Served with the Women’s Land Army in England.
March 30 — Daniel Panisko, 96. Volunteered for military service immediately when he turned 18. Joined the RCAF and served as a ground crew member for a fighter squadron in Canada, England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
March 30 — Bill Barker, 96. Served with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders as a sniper, stationed in various European countries. He was wounded during his service and returned to Winnipeg.
March 31 — Jack Langtry, 95. Served in the RCAF in Halifax.
April 4 — Ray Hellofs, 94. He and a friend signed up for the army on Christmas 1944 before they were drafted. The war ended one week before he was to be shipped overseas from Camp Shilo.
April 5 — Bob Publow, 94. Enlisted in the navy after graduating from high school.
April 6 — Sylvia Boroditsky, 97. Enlisted in the Women’s Royal Air Force in England.
April 9 — Anneliese Fricke, 99. Born in Germany and served in the air force as a radio operator.
April 13 — Morris Chapnick, 96. Born in Poland and served in the air force.
April 14 — Earl Nelson. Repaired aircraft during the war in Assiniboine, Sask.
April 16 — Madge Burwash, 100. Served with the navy.
April 16 — Claude Murphy, 101. Went to England, Italy and Holland during the war.
April 17 — Bert Sheremet. Born in Poland in 1926, he joined the army in 1943 after immigrating to Canada. He was with the Lake Superior 2nd Division and was in the front lines in Holland when he was shot in the neck while taking cover in a trench.
April 23 — Douglas Holland, 96. Born in England and trained to fly a Spitfire and then was a navigator on the Lancaster Bomber with the Royal Air Force.
April 24 — Roy Ellie, 95. He was called up in 1941 and served as a gunner. He contracted tuberculosis while serving and was hospitalized for five years.
April 24 — Rae Davidson, 99. Joined the Canadian Army in 1941 and served in England, France, Belgium and Germany.
April 28 — Dorothy Harling, 102. Joined the Women’s Auxiliary Force in England.
April 28 — Thomas Nash, 102. Joined the Canadian militia and then went to active service as a member of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons, an armoured-car unit with the 2nd Canadian Army, and was discharged as a sergeant.
May 2 — Jack Morton, 95. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy.
May 5 — Bud Casey, 97. Served with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders.
May 9 — Michael Kovacs, 99. Served with the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps and was in the Italian campaign.
May 14 — Nick Smerechynski, 96. He enlisted at 17 and fought all over Europe.
May 16 — Peter Klassen, 98. As a conscientious objector, his alternative war service was joining a workforce maintaining forests and parks for the duration of the war.
May 18 — David Law, 96. Enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and served as stoker first class on the HMCS Ettrick.
May 18 — Lawrence Penn, 94. Served with the RCAF and was stationed in Rivers.
May 23 — Harold Casselman, 97. Enlisted in the RCAF in 1942 and was trained as a signalman.
May 29 — Roger Vadeboncoeur, 95. Joined the RCAF at 18.
June 1 — Alan Pattison, 93. Joined the East Yorkshire Regiment Army after high school and went on to serve with the Royal Army Pay Corps until 1948 as part of postwar demobilization.
June 2 — Olha Jackson. Joined the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service in 1942.
June 5 — Edwin Gaskell, 93. Served as a medic with the U.S. army.
June 14 — Bob Allen, 96. He was 18 when he joined the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders.
July 8 — Bob Mollard. Joined the army when he was 18. The war ended after he finished basic training and was beginning advanced training.
July 15 — Leo Degelman, 95. Enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and served on the HMCS Royal Mount as a submarine detector. He was involved in eight convoy crossings with no ships lost.
July 22 — Gordon Adey, 94. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy as a submarine detector on the HMS Liscombe and HMCS Trail in the North Atlantic.
Aug. 1 — Bill Gray, 94. Joined the Royal Canadian Navy and was just beginning his ocean service when the war ended.
Aug. 7 — Mike Yaschuk, 97. Served on HMCS Runnymede.
Aug. 8 — Al Cooper, 94. He was a lance bombardier in the Canadian Army.
Aug. 8 — John Rempel, 97. Drafted into the German army when it occupied Ukraine and he served, rebuilding a power dam, guarding Russian prisoners and acting as an interpreter.
Aug. 9 — Norris Pringle, 97. Served with the Seaforth Highlanders and saw front-line action In Italy and Holland.
Aug. 12 — Don Leyden, 98. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy on the corvette HMCS Camrose protecting convoys and working in communications.
Aug. 20 — Bill Shebaylo, 96. Joined the Army Air Corps when he turned 18.
Aug. 30 — Joyce Kokorsch, 90. Served in the British Land Army.
Sept. 10 — Ken Clark, 96. Drafted into the New Zealand army and trained in Canada to be a navigator in the air force before going to Britain.
Sept. 28 — John Glowa, 100. Stationed with the army at Signal Hill in Esquimalt, B.C., where he trained in auto mechanics.
Sept. 30 — Wilfrid Beaulieu, 102. Served four years in the war.
Oct. 2 — Sidney Davis, 97. Born in England and joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and was sent to Canada for training as a navigator on Lancaster aircraft.
Oct. 2 — Mel McMurray, 95. Followed in the footsteps of his older brothers and joined the navy.
Oct. 6 — Percy Criddle, 97. Joined the RCAF and became a pilot.
Oct. 9 — Adolph Baraschuk, 100. Joined the Canadian Army and served in the Service Corps.
Oct. 10 — Gordon Bryce, 95. A proud veteran.
Oct. 11 — Lynn Francis, 98. Enlisted in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service and served as a signaller in Halifax until discharged in 1945.
Oct. 19 — Mona Goodman, 97. Served in the RCAF from 1942 to 1946, stationed in Boundary Bay and Patricia Bay, B.C.
Oct. 20 — Joe Mazur, 97. Served in the army and was stationed in Borden and Prince George.
Oct. 22 — Tom Ritchie, 94. Served in the Royal Canadian Navy on the HMCS Chippewa.
Oct. 25 — George Parkinson, 95. Served with the RCAF.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.
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