Source: Nick Kirmse, CTV News, July 16, 2018 It was a landing most people have only seen in old war movies. A massive B-29 bomber, nicknamed Fifi, touched down on Canadian soil this week as part of a mission to keep history alive. The plane will remain at St-Hubert airport just outside Montreal all week. Volunteers… Continue reading Second World War bomber touches down on Canadian soil
Tag: World War 2
Canadians heading to Sicily to mark 75 years since deadly Allied invasion
Source: CTV News, July 3, 2018 A group of history buffs will head to Sicily later this month for a 320-kilometre trek in honour of the 562 Canadian troops who lost their lives in the sometimes overlooked Second World War invasion of Sicily. Steve Gregory has organized the group of Canadians, Americans and Italians, who… Continue reading Canadians heading to Sicily to mark 75 years since deadly Allied invasion
Memories of WWII, from Those Who Lived It
“If God Should Take Us, then Let Us Go Together.” Pauline Ament was 13 years old when England and her Commonwealth allies, including Canada, declared war on Adolf Hitler and his Nazi German troops. During the teenage years when a girl loves to laugh, live, and have fun, Ament grew up with nightly air raids,… Continue reading Memories of WWII, from Those Who Lived It
Family finally learns fate of Canadian shot down over Germany in 1944
Source: CTV News, March 23, 2018 More than 73 years after 23 Allied soldiers and airmen perished when the transport plane they were flying in was shot down over Nazi Germany, one of their families finally has answers about their grandfather’s last day during the war. “All we knew (was) that our grandfather was shot… Continue reading Family finally learns fate of Canadian shot down over Germany in 1944
Researcher seeks families of 20 Canadians shot down over Germany in 1944
Source: Meredith MacLeod, CTV News, March 19, 2018 A do-it-yourself researcher in Germany has found the site of a Second World War plane crash that killed 20 Canadians and is now looking for descendants of the victims. Erik Wieman considers it a personal mission to locate downed wartime planes, spending hours combing through records and databases.… Continue reading Researcher seeks families of 20 Canadians shot down over Germany in 1944
Brother lost, uncle found: Prized World War bracelet finds its way home
Source: CTV News, February 11, 2018 An Alberta woman mourning the loss of her brother has been unexpectedly reunited with a Second World War ID bracelet that belonged to her long-lost uncle, after whom her brother was named. The silver ID bracelet was once the property of Sgt. Airgunner Leonard Switzer, who served with the Royal… Continue reading Brother lost, uncle found: Prized World War bracelet finds its way home
Canadian sailors honoured with flag over British WW2 warship
Source: CTV News, December 26, 2017 Today, it sits gently bobbing on London’s River Thames as a floating museum. But more than 70 years ago, the HMS Belfast was at the forefront of the Allied effort to defeat Nazi Germany. At the time, some 80 Canadians served aboard the British vessel. To honour their contribution to… Continue reading Canadian sailors honoured with flag over British WW2 warship
Home for Christmas
Keeping the promise, “I’ll be home for Christmas” isn’t always easy, especially when everything seems to go wrong. That’s what happened for a friend of mine. Even though he left early in order to get to the airport in plenty of time, things started to play out much differently than he had anticipated. In the… Continue reading Home for Christmas
Romania’s former king Michael, who ruled during Second World War, dies at 96
Source: Alison Mutler, The Associated Press, December 5, 2017 BUCHAREST, Romania — King Michael I, Romania’s former monarch, who was forced to abdicate by the communists in the aftermath of the Second World War, died on Tuesday. He was 96. Michael, who played a pivotal role in Romania’s switch to the Allied cause following a… Continue reading Romania’s former king Michael, who ruled during Second World War, dies at 96
Decades-long mystery of Second World War helmet finally solved
Source: CTV News, November 22, 2017 A mysterious Second World War helmet lost for decades has finally been returned to its rightful owners, thanks to some sleuthing and luck online. The Di Cecco family first discovered the helmet when they moved into a Toronto-area home in the 1960s. It had been left in a basement… Continue reading Decades-long mystery of Second World War helmet finally solved