By the summer, the Japanese were in control of Guadalcanal and had destroyed the British and Dutch Navies in the Pacific. The Germans and Japanese were winning in every theatre of the war. 1942 was the low point in the war despite the entry of the Americans on December 7, 1941. But the pace of the training and the lack of contact with family and friends made the transition a challenge for him.Īs Donald experienced a gloomy phase with not much to occupy him, the Allies scorecard was equally unsettling. Met some Old Boys from Ridley and some guys from Sudbury and aside from waiting, I am having the time of my life.”ĭonald and Syd sailed overseas in March, 1942 and then began further training in two-engine bombers. I expect to be home on a 48-hour leave in a couple of weeks. Going to phone Bill Lane and hope to see him. Morris (teacher from Ridley) in fatigues dress and I couldn’t help but laugh. They are terrific fellows and are quite amusing. A bunch of Englishmen arrived and are they ever enjoying the soft life around here. By bad luck, I am to be inoculated tomorrow and thus will be in sick-bay all weekend.” The next day he told his parents: “Things haven’t changed much since yesterday. The meals, so far, are swell, better than at Ridley. They really treat you swell around here, not like the old army bull-dogging. Most who enlisted hoped to become a pilot, but the majority were assigned to other roles.Īfter Donald had arrived at the Manning Depot, he wrote to his father: “Well I am here at last…there seems to be an awful lot of waiting around. At any stage of the training, a recruit could be removed from the pilot stream and be re-assigned to further training as navigator, gunner, wireless operator or bomb aimer. Suitable pilot candidates would continue to flying school and, upon successful completion of two levels of flying instruction in Canada, would proceed overseas for further training in Britain. Although his nickname was Buggs, he was more like a cuddly teddy bear.Īt the enlistment centres, recruits signed all the official documents that contracted them to the RCAF. He grew up in a loving and close-knit family which gave him the confidence and encouragement that nurtured him for what he became – a generous, fun-loving and mischievous character. For it is here that he gets his basic training: in self-reliance, relationships, responsibilities and values. After a few minutes, I regained my poise and shared this incredible coincidence with my students.Įvery warrior’s life begins in a family. Of the 47,000 Canadians killed in the Second World War, that day the book was open on the page listing my mother’s younger brother, WO II Donald Cameron Plaunt. As I looked closely, the name on the bottom right side of the page was too clear to deny. It was open on a page containing the names which started with the letter “P.” “What a coincidence,” I thought, but without a doubt, it ended there. As I got nearer to the book, I stopped abruptly. I approached the Second World War Book, hoping to engage my students about the significance of the lists. Every day at 11:00 am, the pages are turned, to reveal a new list of 90 or so names in each book. The name of every soldier who perished fighting for Canada since Confederation is in one of the seven books. On the second floor, we found ourselves in the Memorial Chamber, which contains The Books Of Remembrance. After attending a session of the House of Commons, we walked up to the Peace Tower, the iconic bell and clock edifice, which was built as a memorial to commemorate Canada’s war dead. While a high school history teacher, I organized a student field trip to Ottawa to give my students an opportunity to visit our federal government and national museums. I knew I was destined to write this story after an incident on Parliament Hill in 1969. It is also a story of sorrow that explores the heartbreaking impact of his death on his family, when he, like so many other young men, did not return home. It is a story about youth and hope as we follow his journey from a carefree and somewhat entitled rookie pilot to the generous and proud captain of a Lancaster crew. Peppered with his amusing sense of humour, his letters covey a very personal and colourful narrative, ranging from tales of his Air Force training, the events of the war, the people he cared about, and the issues that bothered him. What makes this pilot’s story unique is that it is told in his youthful voice, selected from 150 letters he wrote home. There are many compelling stories written by veterans about Bomber Command. I have now completed a biography of his life primarily based on letters he wrote home. For years I have been posting a photo memorial (see Remembrance Day, 2017) to my uncle, Donald Plaunt, who was killed in the Second World War.
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