www. canadian medal of honor.com

Part 2 ... Gave away 4 leaf Clover, bravery cost his life, awaded Victoria Cross Posthumously

03/07/2014

Wednesday's blog introduced you to Andy from Winnipeg who had joined the militia and then the air force, had served in several Canadian bases, then in England. He'd done well in the service for this first several years and rising in rank to Pilot Officer and with a specialty as an air gunner. His position on the plane was manning the turret that sat on the top of the plane at about the mid section of its length. (See photo below.)

The story left Andy and a crew of 7 others on a bombing run over German occupied Northern France. Their target was a railway marshalling yard at Cambrai and to avoid high civilian casualties they had to fly very low. Just a few thousand feet off the ground, far lower than their usual 25,000 ft. bombing runs. But, as mentioned on Wednesday, being so low they got caught in blinding enemy search lights and had to quickly dive and then pull out of the dive to get out of the light.

But no sooner had they escape that trap, they entered into another when a German night bomber came out of nowhere and started emptying it's cannon fire into the belly of the Canadian plane from below. The devastating blasts knocked out two port engines, much of the plane's hydraulics and set it ablaze in several areas. The pilot immediately realized that the plane was going down within minutes and nothing could save it. He gave the order for all to immediately bail out.

When the pilot thought the entire crew had escaped, he parachuted out himself. But only five had gotten out... by way of the front escape hatch. Andy was still on board. And so was his Thunder Bay Ontario buddy, pilot Officer Pat Brophy, who had an even more serious problem to deal with. The plane's rear turret is very small, and there was no room in it for a parachute which had to be stored in the belly of the plane, but close bye.

When Brophy turned the turret to deal with the attacking enemy plane, the turret revolved partially along its track, but in doing so it passed by the escape door from the turret back into the belly of the plane. And since the hydraulics were now out, the only way out was to crank the turret back to the position of the door..and to do this by hand. Brophy moved it a little, but then the crank broke...and when that happened he quickly came to realize it was the end for him. There was no escape. Period!

As noted on Wednesday, this is not Andy's plane but another, made in 1945 and later repainted with his crew's markings on it. Andy worked the guns on the top and Pat the guns at the rear end of the plane.

When Andy got out of his own turret and down to the escape hatch between him and Pat, he looked back through the flames inside the cabin and could see through a plexiglass window that Andy was still inside his turret and struggling to get the door open. Andy fell to his hands and knees and crawled through the flames of hydraulic oil as he made his way to the back. Grabbing a fire axe on the way he finally got to the rear but his own clothing AND parachute were on fire, but nevertheless he hackled away at the door but could not get it open. He then dropped the axe and tried with his bare hands to get it open but could not get it too budge.

His buddy knew that it was useless and ordered Andy to leave him and at least he could escape and live to fight another battle. Andy ignored him and kept trying, but finally had to give it up and crawled back... still on fire and through fire... and made it to the escape hatch.

Andy then stood up...still on fire, came to attention and faced Pat, he saluted his buddy and senior Pilot Officer and said something. It was probably the very words he uttered a hundred times in the past as each went off to bed. It was probably... "Good night Sir."

Andy then plummeted to earth. His shute was so badly burned that it did not open. French farmers near bye witnessed the ball of fire falling earthbound and raced to the scene to find Andy, amazingly still alive.. and still of fire. After the flames were put out they rushed him to a local doctor, his burns overcame him and Andy died not from the fall, but from the flames. He was buried near bye and later removed to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Meharicourt Communal Cemetery about 30 km from Amiens France. He now rests with 40 other airmen, 12 from Canada, 21 from the RAF, 6 from the Royal Australian AF and 2 from the Royal New Zealand AF.

When the plan crashed if first struck a tree and a wing was torn off. Then the plane broke into many pieces. With it bouncing about, the rear turret was broken away from the plane. Within seconds Pat Brophy miraculous came too. He had been blown from the turret and smashed into a tree, and knocked out for a few seconds. When he awoke, he took off his helmet and his four leaf clover fell out. The very clover that was given to him for good luck from his buddy... Andy... who was now dead. Other than a few scratches and being badly knocked about, Pat was others wise quite fit for duty. Pat looked at his watch it was 13 minutes past Midnight. And for the triskaidekaphobia readers yes, it was Friday the thirteenth, in June of 1944. And to boot it was the crew's 13th mission.

Pat made it too a local village and heard troops coming so hid in a doorway. From behind two men approached him and muffled him and took him away. They were resistance men and Pat joined up with them and continued to fight till finally repatriated back to England. He then met others from his crew and for the first time told the others what his fellow gunner Andy tried to do to save his life. It was only then that he learned that Andy had died.

Andy's commanding Officer, on learning of this heroism immediately wrote the story up and recommended Andy for the Victoria Cross. It was supported by the most senior officers in the RCAF and the RAF and finally approved at London in the Fall of 1946. Here is the London Gazette's posthumous award...

From the above you can now see that Andy had a last name. His full name of course being Andrew Charles Mynarski. Two months after the above announcement of the Victoria Cross being awarded it was presented to Andy's mother in Alberta. It was presented by the then serving Lt. Governor, the Honorable J.A. McWilliams.

It should be mentioned that days after the D Day landings it was learned that the efforts of the air forces involved definitely had a bearing on the landings and the days following. The Panzer divisions arrived without their tanks. And it was said that they could not get through due to so many traffic jams and ties ups because of all the damage the bombers did.

Pilot Officer Andy Mynarski, VC is shown here probably about a year before he was killed in action. At the time of the photograph he was a Warrant Officer. He was promoted the day before being killed in action, to that rank of a Pilot Officer. Shown also are the wings of an air gunner and thus the initials... A and G.

There are numerous memorials to this officer's heroism in Canada. At Winnipeg the First Canadian Air Division's HQ there is a Mynarski memorial Room and here they proudly display this hero's Victoria Cross. At CFB Cold Lake the very axe he used, and recovered from the crash site, is on display.

There is a highschool in Winnipeg, a park in Alberta, A Royal Canadian Legion and an air cadet Squadron named in his honor. A three lake chain in Alberta is named for the hero. CFB Penhold has an officer's quarters so named and the officer has been inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.

The Andrew Mynarski VC Plaque above was unveiled at Winnipeg's Kildonan Park in 2005. The middle statute, over 8 feet high was unveiled in 2005 at the Durham Tees Valley International Airport which is located on the very land that Andy once served and then known as MIddleton St George, in England. Air passengers pass right past it enroute to wherever they are off to. And among others is the bust outside of our own parliament Buildings in Ottawa known as the Valiants Memorial which consists of 9 busts and five statutes.

The above pictured plane will be travelling to England to join up with the only other Lancaster that still flies and will spend a month touring. It is said to be one of Canada's most famous symbols of the war and readers ought to watch the news in August to catch get the story. In the mean time much can be learned about Andy by doing a Google search of his name.

Hope you enjoyed,

See you on Wednesday next,

Bart

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Couldn't have been a triskaidekaphobiac, so gave away 4 Leaf Clover. Bravery cost his life. Awarded Victoria Cross posthumously!

03/05/2014

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When we think of heroes from Winnipeg Manitoba we usually recall the names of Leo Clarke, Fred Hall and Robert Shankland who all lived at some point on the Pine Street...and even in the same block. Each served in WW1 and the incredible bravery of all three was later rewarded by each earning the Victoria Cross, the British Empire's very highest of awards for bravery in the face of the enemy. Folks were so proud of these men that in 1925 Pine Street was renamed in their honour and is now known world wide as Valour Road.

Well folks, not all of the heroes in Winnipeg came from the army.

Let me tell you about Andy.

Andy was one of six siblings born to Polish Immigrants. He attended two primary schools in that city and by the age of 16 he was probably in high school when his father passed away. Like most boys Andy took on odd jobs after school hours to help make ends meet. He'd find work cutting chamois (the famous cloth used in car washing) and in carpentry. He was a great woodworker and loved even making furniture.

Also like so many young men Andy joined up with the local militia in 1940 and served briefly with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. This is their cap badge.

In 1941 his thoughts of soaring through the clouds saw him joining the RCAF. Basic training at Edmonton followed by wireless courses at Calgary, gunnery school at MacDonald Manitoba and by Christmas of 1941 Private Andy was graduating from air gunnery school at Halifax and wearing the rank of a Temporary Sergeant.

By December of the following year Andy had shipped oversees and joined up with the 419th Moose Squadron, so called after the squadron's first commander. The men would become known then and to this day as Moosemen. He was assigned the job of mid upper gunner which meant that his place of work was inside a small turret on top of the plane and about mid way along its length.

Temporary Sergeant Andy, shown here, is wearing the badge of an air gunner on his left chest.

He would take initial training and part in various sorties on several types of planes operating out of Middleton St. George, Yorkshire England. Some of these include the Vickers Wellington, Hadley Page Halifax, Avro Lancaster and finally the Avro Lancaster MK X bombers.

These later bombers were built in Ontario by Victory Aircraft Ltd, later becoming A.V. Roe Canada Ltd and still later the company Avro Canada, who, by war's end had made 430 planes for the war effort.

By June of 1944 Andy would find himself in the thick of battle whilst carrying out the duties laid out in General Eisenhower's plans to create a massive disruption to the transportation system of the Western Europe. This plan called for the US Air Force and the British Air Force (read Canada as well) in bombing highways and rail lines and any routes the Germans could take to bring forces anywhere near the Normandy beaches were the massive landings were planned to take place.

On 12 June 1944 all of the gunners were promoted to the rank of Pilot Officers. At about 10 p.m. that night Andy and the rest of the 7 man crew of his plane (6 were Canadians) were given their orders to board the plane for a mission. Just before boarding Andy looked down at the ground near his plane and found a four leaf clover, the world renown sign of good fortunes. He picked it up and before boarding he gave it to his close friend and crew member, Pat Bromphy from Port Arthur, now Thunder Bay Ont. For some time Pat had held the rank of Pilot Officer and so was senior to Andy, but ranks aside both were very close friends and tended to hang out together and off from the rest of the crew. Both were gunners and so that strengthened their friendship.

The MK X was designed for flights at the 25,000 ft. range... not the 2,000 ft. range above ground. But it was at this drastically lower altitude that the men had to fly to ensure incredible accuracy to destroy their very important targets, yet not have high collateral damage. A failed mission would result in far higher casualties during the several days of Normandy landings. But at such low range their were sitting ducks for the flak sent into the air and the low altitude flying German night bombers.

The target that night was the heavily protected rail marshalling yards at Cambrai in Northern France, shown below and marked with the letter... "A". In the upper left of the map you can see the southern tip of England.

On the very night of this attack, Andy's old comrades in the Royal Winnipeg Riffles were carrying out their duties in the area marked with the letter "B" above. Perhaps they saw the formation of planes flying overhead or Andy observed them enroute to his own destiny. We may never know!

It was very soon after leaving the English Channel behind them that the crew became "coned." An Air Force term meaning they had been caught in the blinding lights of several land based high powered search lights. The 22 year old pilot quickly put the plane into a dive and then reversed directions upwards and escaped the lights but no sooner had this been avoided when the crew found themselves in the cross hairs of a enemy night bomber called the Junkers JU 88. These planes had heavy cannons on board and also the ability to not only fly low as a routine, but could fire almost straight up and thus at the soft belly of the Lancaster MK X, a plane that unlike many other types, did not have and under belly gunner and turret.

This plane was made at Malton Ontario in 1945 and never saw combat service. Years later it was repainted in honour of the plane involved in this story. It is an exact replica of Andy's plane. Note the upper mid body turret position were Andy was stationed, and the turret at the back of the plane were his buddy Pat served.

On Friday I'll return with more on the incredibly amazing story of Andy and his crew.

You do not want to miss this one!

Bart

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Plans have been forced to change and thus my Wed blog will back on schedule for Wednesday... not Tuesday. Sorry for the unavoidable changes, but apparently life happens.

03/04/2014

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Great Timing for A MAJOR Medal of Honor announcement about a week ago!

03/01/2014

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Over the past several months I have had numerous problems with some sicko's who get joy out of transmitting viruses into my computer. I can only pray that some day they will get their just rewards for the problems they create.

That being said, here is an attempt to do yesterday's blog, even though the computer is still acting up.

Back in 2002 the US Congress ordered the Pentagon to do a massive review of awards made to the military in any of the years between December of 1941 and September of 2001. Evidence suggested that there were far too many cases that seemed to support the contention that discrimination based on racial or ethnic backgrounds played a major role in the awarding of the top medal... the Medal of Honor... to those of Hispanic, Black American and Jewish decent.

And sure enough the massive job proved that there indeed was discrimination that ran so ramped that in the army alone some 600 cases were discovered that needed reassessment. Add to that over 275 from the other services. And to this, factor in that only those cases were a 2nd highest medal was awarded, was there a second look, such that produced these astounding figures. Even more upsetting is evidence discovered that some serving members hid their true names and enlisted under phoney ones in an attempt to avoid the discrimination they still encountered.

Last week the news was released that the twelve year study had been completed. From this 24 cases have been discovered were the service man should have been awarded a Medal of Honor and was unjustly disqualified and then awarded a lower medal. Of these 24 all but six were Hispanic, or Jewish. One was a Black American, and all fought in either WW11, Korea or Vietnam. Of the 24 that will be honoured this month. ONLY THREE ARE STILL ALIVE.

The White House ceremony is scheduled for March 18 and will be the largest awarding of Medals of Honor in one ceremony since WW11 days.

Some say justice is finally being done! But when 24 heroes were denied the acknowledgement that they had earned the highest medal in the country for their heroism for more than two decades, a very late correction is hardly the justice they, their families, their communities and their country deserved.

Last month was Black History Month in Canada and the US, and so the timing of the announcement was good for at least one of these heroes. No doubt also to all the others of diverse backgrounds, who's cases have now been identified as needing further review.

Lets hope they get it!

Speaking of reviews, perhaps the British could learn something about this case. And after the lesson is learned they can hopefully review the case of Robert Burt Gilbert, a black WW1 soldier from Victoria BC who bayoneted one of the enemy at Vimy and braved going into a tunnel known to be an enemy holding area for Germans, when his own officers refused to enter for fear of their lives. He exited and brought along an enemy machine gun. He also brought along over 2 dozen POW's and an officer. That officer said Gilbert was so brave that he removed an Iron Cross from his chest and pinned it on the Canadian. A Canadian private that received no promotions or awards for his heroism. He of course was black!. Some in the same battle were said to have done less and later were awarded the Victoria Cross. But then they were white! A blog was written about this some time ago and can be reread by going to...
http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/03/should-have-victoria-cross-but-got-iron-cross-instead.html

Back to Black History Month (BHM) which just ended yesterday... when this blog was expected to run, there are a few comments I'd like to make.

To begin with, we should all reflect of the very first black Victoria Cross recipient in the entire history of the award. That recipient was of course Nova Scotia born William Hall, who's run to constantly drag a heavy artillery gun into place against a very highly defended enemy wall, earned him a VC.

His memory was kept alive for years in highland tattoos yearly at Canada's East and West coast where teams competed against each other in re-enactments of running the gun to an obstacle, tearing it down, crossing the obstacle, rebuilding it and then firing off rounds and reversing the procedure back to the start point again.

A few years ago the competition was apparently halted as too many were getting hurt. If memory is right, Hall's battle was not halted for similar reasons! More can be read about Hall at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2012/12/74-nova-scotia-blacks-served-on-58-civil-war-vessels.html and at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/02/declared-deserter-fought-in-three-wars-for-2-countries-served-on-14-ships-and-awarded-victoria-cross.html

We should also give some thought to the heroism, during BHM, of Robert Sweeney one of 19 apparent double recipients of the Medal of Honor. Current history claims that there were 19 recipients, but like most history, can often be challenged. There were clearly more than 19 doubles as noted in this space in the past.

That being said, Sweeney also has been claimed for years as being born at Montreal but it reality he was born in the West Indies. Regardless, his heroism can not be challenged and more can be read about him in a past blog at...
http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2012/12/only-in-every-2105263-earned-not-1-but-2-medals-of-honor.html

During the same month of celebrating, we must not forget the story of Nova Scotia born Joseph Noil who's bravery in the navy saved a fellow sailor's life and resulted in his being awarded the Medal of Honor. He would be Canada's only born black recipient known to date. But history continues on a regular basis to overturn what we think we know today.

Joseph's story has been covered in this space at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/12/medal-of-honor-recipient-buried-under-wrong-name-for-almost-130-years-age-and-length-of-service-also-pose-questions.html and he has had honourable mention numerous times since his grave was recently discovered with a few miles of Washington DC. I visited his grave a few months back and am assured that the updating of his marker is well in the works.

Still with February, we should wrap the month up with some thoughts about the heroism of Admiral Byrd, who received a Medal of Honor for his explorations in Canada's North with a General Order dated on 25 Feb 1927. On the same day but in the year 1917, Recipient Pte George L Houghton died. On the 27th, but in the year 1870 recipient Sergeant Albert O'Connor's General Order was issued approving his MOH. And yesterday..the 28th back in 1899 recipient Private Thomas Gay passed away back in 1899.

More can be read about the daring adventures of Admiral Byrd at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/02/on-top-of-the-world.html

More can be read about the 38 year wait for the Houghton MOH at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/02/waited-thirty-eight-years-to-get-his-medal-of-honor.html

If you think that wait was too long, you can read about O'Connor's 56 year wait at... . http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/02/another-quebecer-gets-medal-of-honor-after-56-year-wait.html

And while reflecting on the 24 medals to be awarded later this month, revisit Thomas Gay's adventures and how he and 33 others all got their medals on the same day, at... http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/apps/search?q=Gay One of these others was also another Canadian.

Hope all this reading keeps you going till we again meet next Tuesday.

Note I said Tuesday, as Wednesday I expect to be away from my computer.

Bart

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computer problems have delayed today's post till tomorrow by 6 pm... sorry folks... BA

02/28/2014

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Genealogical searches are like playing with a metal detector. You haven't a clue what will turn up!

02/26/2014

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Last week I shared with you the results of a several year search for the MacGillivary plaque that listed many of the Canadian born Medal of Honor recipients. The search ended with the discovery that the plaque is hanging in a most prominent place in the offices of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Charlottetown PEI, despite earlier evidence noting that it was in Ottawa.

The column ended with some remarks about the advances in research and the fact that many of the details contained on that plaque can now be added to... and in some cases corrected. The blog ended with the note that we will be returning to the subject of MONCKTON today.. so here we are.

The plaque, Monckton and a Medal of Honor recipient all have a connection. This blog will hopefully sort it all out.

To begin, a year and 2 days ago I brought you one of me earliest blogs. It was on George G Wortman, a New Brunswicker who earned a medal for actions during the Indian Wars back in 1868 in Arizona. You can read about this event by having a second look at the blog at...

www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/02/34-medals-of-honor-for-same-event-two-were-canadians.html

In addition to his years of service after the Civil War with the US 8th Cavalry, he also served with the US 4th Artillery and throughout the Civil War but I have yet to find out what his unit was or any information about this Civil War service. Nor the whereabouts of his actual Medal of Honor. Doing genealogical research brought me to MONCKTON, as did the plaque which lists Wortman's name and shows him being from MONCKTON.

I thought the spelling was wrong. But it was not... sort of!. That was the spelling when he joined up... but not when the place was founded over 100 years earlier and before Canada became the nation we know it as today.

Geographer Thomas Kitchin drew this period map covering what we now know as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and the US eastern coastline covering the dates of about the 1750's to the 1770's. Please note that today's New Brunswick was then a part of the Colony of Nova Scotia and places like Moncton, Saint John's and Fredericton had yet to be so founded as such and so named.

So what's the connection between this map and our Medal of Honor man George Gilford Wortman. Well, I'll tell you!

When doing the search for relatives and his actual medal, I found that he had a father, as we all did. His father's name was Jacob Wortman. And Jacob's father was David. And David's father was another Jacob. And Jacob's father was yet another George.

And this George, may well have recognized this map. HIs G. G. grandson is our MOH man. The senior George was born in Germany in 1742, and like many others immigrated to the US, and Pennsylvania in particular, to escape persecution back home. He and the others etched out a living but eventually grew unhappy in the US.

With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France gave up part of its North American possessions to the British. They in turn created a number of land grant company's like the one connected to a fellow you may have heard of and named Benjamin Franklin. This company sought out the cultivation of some 100,000 acres of riverfront land in what would today be known as New Brunswick.

Eight families would be selected to initially populate the area, clear the land and start to cultivate crops and set up a settlement. They would also be expected to protect it from any enemies encountered. The written agreement called for their developing the land and staying on it for a period of five years to pay off their travel expenses and for the purchase of the land. George would be one of these selected families.

Their 44 day sail on a single masted sloop captained by a fellow named Hall, would finally see them land on 3 June 1766 along a river front known then as Paraccadiee Creek, but soon renamed to Hall's Creek. Within weeks some of the land was cleared and all were housed in a few community shelters. Over 200 lbs of potatoes had already been planted and within a year buckwheat and corn and a scattering of farm animals were on site.

The area was first called the BEND after the nature bend in the river and the greater area was named after the earlier English Colonel MONCKTON who had captured a nearby French fort not long before.

In 1788 a survey was done of the county of MONCKTON and it showed a struggling community with a handful of the original families including the Wortman three men, Jacob, Martin and John, all sons of George who had just died a few months earlier. While George had sold off most of the original almost 1200 acres, the three sons were operating a farm of about 21 acres and had done so for at least the past 6 years at the time of the survey. On their land were 8 cows, 6 oxen, 5 young cattle and 3 sheep.

Monckton would remain so named until it got its first incorporation in the mid 1850's. And at that time claimed the distinction off still holding its original spelling. But a clerical error resulted in an erroneous name change to MONCTON, which has perpetuated ever since.

On the Main Street of Moncton today there is an area set aside to commemorate the first settlers, as shown here on ther map, and with the image to the right.

Bricks remind us of the eight families that came from the United States. Note the Wortman name at lower right on the bricks, and in same spot on the enlarged image of the center photo.

As you view these, you now know of yet more NB history. That of the descendant, a Medal of Honor recipient, who's Great Great Grandfather played such an important role in the history of Moncton/MONCKTON New Brunswick.

See you on Friday.

Bart

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Another Medal of Honor Mystery Solved in Canada... Part 2

02/21/2014

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The first part of this blog told of the many year search for a plaque that listed Canadian Medal of Honor recipients. It was supposed to have been presented to the late Right Honourable P.E. Trudeau, during his term as Prime Minister back in 1976. The presenter was Sgt. Charles MacGillivary whom you have read about in this space in the past. He was born in PEI, and earned a medal for his bravery in WW11 during the famous Battle of the Bulge in France. Charles was the immediate past president of the most influential group in the US known as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and was presenting on the society's behalf. It would be the only such plaque in the entire country.

About a month ago the several year search for this plaque..or a similar one.. came to an end. The search would not have been a success without the aid of an official at the Canadian Agency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Ottawa and several officials at Veterans Affairs Canada at Charlottetown PEI, ironically Sgt MacGillivary's city of birth.

Here is the plaque, mounted in the atrium of the DJ MacDonald Building, at the HQ of Veterans Affairs Canada in downtown Charlottetown.

While previous information, as noted in Wednesday's blog, indicated that it was at Ottawa, no information has come forth confirming that it was ever mounted there. It appears that it was presented in PEI, per a plate on the plaque, on 15 August 1979, and by Sgt MacGillivary to the then serving Minister of Veterans Affairs.

In the four corners of this plaque, symbols represent the United States Marine Corps, Army, Navy, and Air Force. Missed seems to be the US Coast Guards.

The plate at the top tells of the importance of the Medal of Honor and that the names listed below are those Canadians who were awarded the Medal of Honor over the years between Civil War days till the horrible days of Vietnam. Here is that plate....

The plaque is self explanatory but there are some points to be made.

First, When Sgt MacGillivary appeared before Congress, as noted on Wednesday, he clearly stated that the plaque was presented in 1976. This is dated in 1979.

Second, that date and his position as not the current... but past president, certainly appear to have been added at a date after the plaque was first created. When and by whom, is unknown.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is an organization that was created many years ago, and consists solely of actual recipients of the medal.

Its name causes confusion by many when they insist, in error, to make reference to the medal as the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Congressional, is used above because it was the US Congress that approved the creation of the society. The name does NOT apply to the medal itself, as readers of this blog know.

On either side of a listing of Medal of Honor recipients, there are two plates. One is in English and the other in French.

Each indicates that the plaque was presented to the Honorable Allan McKinnon, Minister of Veterans Affairs, by Charles A MacGillivary, the then past President of the society, and that it was done on the 15th of August 1979.

Again the mysterious date.

Wednesday's blog also quoted directly from the official Congressional record when MacGillivary appeared before them. And in this he clearly stated that the presentation was made to the Prime Minister... not one of his cabinet ministers.

There are 41 names on this plaque. The originally statement before Congress indicated that there were 54 names on it.

Over the years research has produced evidence that the number of recipients is far greater, as indicated in many past blogs on the site.

Evidence over these years has also helped to fill in many of the gaps on this plaque indicating the home city or town or province. Seventeen of these are missing on the plaque.

New Brunswick residents will be dismayed with the repeated use of the term St. John's as it applies to SAINT John's NB.

Others may find it most interesting that in some cases the recipient's home is listed as being Canada East or Canada West. (No doubt the names used on enlistment in the 1860's.)

And still with New Brunswick there is a listing from a place called MONCKTON, which is of course today known as Moncton.

And that is by accident.

When the community was first founded in the 1770's it was named as a county and after a British officer by the name of Monckton who had captured the French fortress in the area. His named was misspelled when the county incorporated and the name has stuck ever since. But much more on this in the next blog.

I cannot leave this blog without noting the incredible company this plaque is keeping.

To the right of the MOH plaque is the certificate issued in December of 1988 to the Government of Canada, on behalf of the people of Canada, and represents our part in the international body proudly known as the United Nations Peacekeepers. Canada, as one of its founders, has played a major role in peacekeeping since day one, and over 80,000 Canadians can share in the pride of knowing that their services to Canada and beyond has been recognized with Nobel's International Peace Prize of 1988.

Over 115 brave Canadians lost their lives while performing peaceking in some needy part of the world.

While the image above is difficult to read, here is a better image found on the net.

Some may not know it but Alfred Bernhard Nobel grew up Sweden and was soon put to work with his father making munitions. He grew to become adept at the trade and was sent to the US for additional training for one year under the quite experienced John Ericsson, another inventor from Sweden who had moved to NY and was friend of Nobel's father Olaf.

Ericsson would improve the 2 screw propeller system and have many credits to his name. He would go on a decade later to build the USS Monitor, of the famous battle in 1862 against the CSS Merrimack noted in earlier blogs here. A battle in which many Canadians fought, and two would go on later to earn a Medal of honor for other actions.

The battle resulted in countries around the world altering their then current ways of building warships..

In the first of the two days of battle, there were two deaths of the side of the Confederates, but considerable more for the the Northerners.

Readers will be interested in knowing that the very first death for the Confederates was a sailor from a place called New Brunswick, Canada.

Before signing off, I must give my thanks to the folks at Veterans Affairs for the help in finding the above plaque and Mr David Panton in particular for arranging to have the above photos taken and sent to me.

More on Monckton next Wednesday.

Bart

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Another Medal of Honor Mystery Solved in Canada... sort of!

02/19/2014

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Regular visitors to this site know of my profound interest in locating the whereabouts of final resting places of all Canadian Medal of Honor recipients, and of course those with connections to Canada. This interest also includes the location, and hopefully the obtaining of digital images of their actual medals of honor. Further still is the desire to locate any plaques or statutes, monuments, buildings or whatever that have been named in honour of these heroes. Desires coupled with that of bringing this information to you in this space.

The results of this extensive research so far for well over 13 years has sadly produced little in the way of locating these memorials to our heritage and history within Canada. Not from lack of efforts, but from an apparent lack of their even being in the country.

Elsewhere on this site I have listed the 7 known graves located in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. I have also listed a ridiculously low number of only 5 plaques, monuments etc to these heroes within Canada. Ridiculous I say, as these men deserved far more acknowledgement for their hero status than they have been given.

Throughout these pages I have also brought you stories of two known public displays of medals, one that at one point was being offered for sale, and maybe still is, three others that I suspect are within Canada, and yet four more that I know are within the country but I have been asked not to reveal their names or locations, due to family requests. (Hopefully at least two of these will eventually be on public display.)

That being said, today I am very excited to share a success story that needs to be told.

Fifteen years ago next month this fellow stood in the very impressive US Congress to address the US Senate's Judiciary Sub Committee on Immigration.

He told the committee that... "my experience and the record shows that since the Civil War, immigrants have fought valiantly to defend this country. No one can prove to me otherwise." The soldier added that... On 23 August, 1945, I attended a ceremony at the White House with 28 other veterans. President Truman presented us with the medals. I was very honoured to have been included among so many recipients. I was also very proud that I, as an immigrant, had been selected to receive this award. I am happy to say that there are 714 other immigrants who have received the Congressional Medal of Honor."

This hero's names is Charles MacGillivary, PEI born, recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the Battle of the Bulge in France in mid December of 1944. This Sergeant's story has been told on this site and many blogs have given further honourable mention over the past year.

At above left Congressman John F Kennedy is presenting him with the game ball at Fenway Park in 1945, the very park his grandfather tossed the first pitch at back in 1912, At centre President Truman is placing the MOH around Charlie's neck and at right is an image of Charles in later years.

Back around 2004 I became aware of this above referenced information about MacGillivary 's appearance before the committee. In that material there was a direct quote from the Sergeant that got my attention. He stated that back in 1975 he had gone to Ireland to present a plaque to the President that contained the names of 204 Irish born Medal of Honor recipients. He made the presentation of behalf on the Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the US, a body that he was at the time the immediate past president of. (It is believed he was the only immigrant president in the society's history.)

But what really caught my eye was his comment that... "I presented a similar plaque to Prime Minister Trudeau in 1976, containing 54 names of Canadian born Medal of Honor recipients."

I have been searching for that plaque since 2005!

In the spring of 2005 I wrote to the offices of the Speaker at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. One of the functions of that office is the security of the buildings. From that also flows much of what comes into and out of the buildings. Thus a good start I thought to locate this plaque.

But I soon received a letter advising that after a search no such plaque could be located. Worse yet, no information that it ever was there or put on display in any of the buildings of Parliament.

Other enquiries over the years produced no further clues. But then a spark. In a conversation a few months back with MacGillivary family I was told that there used to be a newsletter that came out from the Congressional Medal Of Honor Society and to check back to see what it anything might have been mentioned about this presentation.

Contacting my friends at the CMOHS I was later told that little was available but they did send this major clue about a month back...

It is unknown the date of publication, or for certain, what publication this appeared in. The "Static Line" stamp might be a clue. But unfortunately it just went out of print recently. An email contact to some who want to start it up again has gone unanswered so far. The significance of the handwritten date of March 1985 is unknown.

But all this aside, this picture may well be one of only a very very few that actually show two Canadians, one being a Victoria Cross recipient and one being a Medal of Honor recipient.

I have never seen another!

Note that while Sgt MacGillivary in the 1999 appearance at Congress indicated that his plaque contained 54 names of Canadians, this article says the number was lower, at only 41.

Further, at Congress the Sgt said his presentation was made in 1976, but the details here suggest a presentation "recently." And a clue of the date suggests a possible event clearly after Colonel David Currie's retirement as the Speaker of the House at Ottawa. (Currie's story was told in this space just a few weeks back,) Colonel Currie retired from the Speaker's job in 1978.

So this would suggest a presentation in or after 1978. And at Ottawa, though the Speaker in 2005 wrote me that year say his investigation could offer no supporting evidence of the plaque ever being in Ottawa.

In a further conversation with the MacGillivary family on other matters re their hero father, the plaque again came up. I was then informed that the plaque was presented to some Victoria Cross recipients and it is in a veteran's government building in Charlottetown PEI and has been seen few times over the years, had been removed for some renovations and hopefully was by the time of our conversation, again mounted for public viewing.

In the continued search and despite all the mixed signals above, I made contact with an official of the Commonwealth Graves Commission at Ottawa t. He was very helpful during the work to see the completion and unveiling of a more suitable memorial to Commander Rowland Bourke VC, MC about a year back. (much appeared here in earlier blogs on this work)

I asked if he had any contacts with Veterans Affairs officials at their HQ facilities in PEI, and if so, if they could be asked to assist in this ongoing search. He was able to help, and I will bring those results on Friday.

Bart

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"Its an Honour" part 3

02/14/2014

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The national exhibit "Its an Honour" continues its journal across BC and spreading the word about the awards, honours and decorations national system in Canada. The past two blogs have introduced you to the themes, reasons and walked you through some of the great materials there for you to see and learn about... and even touch and hold in many cases.

But today's blog is not about ... what is.... but about ... what could be!

When I visited the exhibit in Duncan BC on 28 January I had a wonderful time looking at the exhibits. Because of poor weather conditions there were few visitors and so I was given a fantastic opportunity to speak with two of the crew and share some very interesting stories of their experience since joining the exhibit. The morning also gave me a golden opportunity to share with them the work that I have been doing for years on the research of the Canadians heroes for which this site was created. And thus, my reason to even visit the exhibit.

Then, and since I have thought of, and shared views about some ideas I have that might make the great exhibit even more meaningful to the visitor.

What follows are those thoughts.

An enquiry was made as to the location of the event. How it was selected? Duncan's took place at a public school with 260 children in Kindergarten through grade 7. It was great for the kids and certainly the higher grades would have gotten much out of it. But how was the school selected? The question was asked to be passed on to Ottawa but no response has been received from Ottawa.

The issue I have with the locations selected across Canada so far may have been vastly improved in some centres, had Ottawa done some more research on the very military heroes it choses to honour. Many of these recipients went to public schools somewhere in Canada. Why not do some research, get this info and see if those schools could host the event.

There is still 18 months of touring... and that is a lot of pubic schools that could get a real thrill out of hosting such a significant event.

Getting specific, Duncan's location was less than a dozen blocks from the Charles Hoey Park. This I suspect was by fluke, not any planning. Charles Hoye's name is on the cenotaph contained in that park. (as is his brother) There is also a marker commemorating his heroism in Burma in WW11 that resulted in not only a Military Cross but a Victoria Cross. He died in the process of earning his VC. In short, the very sort of hero this exhibit should be honouring.

But the crew did not know anything about this fellow until I told them about the man and even took a crew member to the park to see it for himself.

I recognize that it is impossible for the crew to know each recipient's name or story, that is not their job. It belongs with Ottawa... and for Ottawa to give the crew the tools to work with... ie a sheet of talking points most connected with the very venue in.

Image the joy and thrill the kids could get, many of the seniors children in particular, who have played in that very park and would certainly recognized its name if a crew member mentioned it. As they would speak the kids would say..."I know that name... thank you for telling me what he did."

But the opportunity is now lost. At least for that stop of the tour! It can be fixed for hundreds of others.

Many of the recipients of these awards are now senior citizens and live in complexes dedicated to these older folks.

I have looked at the proposed stops for the exhibit briefly and do not recall seeing any of these complexes or veterans type housing projects were the exhibit may be shown. These folks have many challenges in getting around and those that are mobile would be proud and thrilled to see the exhibit at their own doorstep. Thought for consideration.

Better yet... make some sort of a portable display that can be taken into the buildings. Probably undoable this time around though.

One of the great features of the exhibit is the reaching out to current recipients of the various awards, medals etc and the invitation extended for them to come out a view the displays etc. Chances are pretty good that not only are great stories shared with these heroes and the crew, but that the public can also meet these folks and shake their hands and hear first hand what the person did to be appropriately awarded for their effort to make Canada and the world a better place.

My thought is that when one of these heroes passes on, who in the family learns of the exhibit. A major data base should be created so that the next of kin or family representatives' contact info should be gathered and stored, and used so that Ottawa now has another person that invitations could be extended to, so that they could also come out an enjoy the very exhibit their family member is honoured in.

It would take some work, but the costs would be far better spent there than on much silliness Ottawa spends on today as we all know.

In the talking points sheets mentioned above, there should be such for certain months of the year.

One coming to mind is of course Black History Month. We are well into the month and this would have been a great time to highlight the black leaders Canada can be so proud of. The list would be very long. Let the kids do a print out of it while at the exhibit.

Another month coming to mind for personal reasons is Women's History Month conceptualized, and advocated for nationally, for over a year by three women from Victoria BC, my late mother being one of these.

That sheet could tell the brief story of the Famous Five, the subsequent creation of the Persons Awards and the still later creation of the month honouring Canadian women. What better example of leadership and inspiration could you ask for, to motivate the young children?

The exhibit is designed to motivate the youth. Here's a story they could have used... and still can. My mother often spoke about the month she and the two others created and her message was always rather profound. It was that it just goes to show what three people sitting around the kitchen table can do when they make their minds up to do it... regardless of the obstacles along the way. And they did it... despite some very serious doubts from many very powerful public figures.

The suggestion was passed on that many interesting theme shows that travel from place to place have a way that those viewing can become part of the very history of the exhibit.

My idea was for this exhibit to place some sort of large pieces of plexiglass on the sides of the van when in a fixed position at a stop. Then allow the kids to go out and sign their names to it.

As it becomes full, pull it down and put a new one up... and then make these a permanent exhibit at Ottawa after the tour is finally completed.

What a great and lasting exhibit that would be!

My final point is that I was stunned to find that Major Hoey, VC, MC, pictured here, and who's story has been told at this site just before the last two blogs, WAS FORGOTTEN by the folks in Ottawa who have put together this display of Canadian heroes.

He ranks with the best of the best of them and his name is NOT LISTED in the data bank at the interpretive display in the exhibit.

I find this absolutely astonishing!   And if I may... unacceptable.

While the criteria for the listing of those listed is unknown, and the question posed about this yet to be answered by Ottawa, a Canadian born VC recipient... for whatever reason excluded, should be put back into that data base for all Canadians to see.. for ever. Period.

And so should any other VC recipient with any connections whatsoever to Canada.

Telling the story of the Victoria Cross without telling of ALL these folks is like getting your potatoes without the gravy.    In fact a whole lot more serious.

And surely that has to be just plain wrong and a disservice to their memory!

See you next week.

Bart

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"It's an Honour" part 2

02/13/2014

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Last Friday I brought you the first blog on the two year travelling exhibit called ''It's an Honour." The program is sponsored by the offices of the Governor General of Canada and funded by most generous assistance from the Taylor Family Foundation. It is designed to help better make the public aware of federal government awards and decoration programs by bringing exhibits to hundreds of centers across Canada were the citizens could come out and learn more about these awards, and maybe even meet some heroes in the process. It is designed to focus more on the small centers than the large because in these it is felt the citizens may be a little more hard pressed to get to the major resource museums, libraries etc in the bigger centres. The program is also very much geared to the younger children as well.

The exhibit is not just about medals and awards to be hung on your chest or around your neck, or about plaques and certificates suitable for framing.

The message is much deeper. It is about inspiring Canadians by showing normal day to day men women AND YOUTH how their fellow Canadians coming from all the same walks of life have done more than just the ordinary. Folks who have refused to accept the typical...no you can't attitude...and reached out for the challenges. Not only stretching but actually embracing, and in so doing, overcoming what were thought to be insurmountable odds. Reaching success time after time while others were too busy scratching their heads and wondering how it got done. And in this process these men and women and youth have made themselves and their country... the envy of the world.

On Friday I promised a look inside this exhibit so here we go...

As you enter the exhibit you are greeted by a wide screen image of our Right Honorable Governor General David Johnson.

In a brief video you are welcomed to the exhibit and given a brief few words about its purpose.

One of the most impressive displays is the massive exhibit in the shape of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest award that can be bestowed on Canadians and ranking just below the Victoria Cross.

This image depicts the top of the three possible levels of the Order of Canada, that of the Companion of the order. Easily distinguished by the solid red maple leaf at its centre.

The order is shaped like a snowflake. This design reflects the fact that each snowflake is an individual... no two alike. So too for the recipients of the award.

I'm told that one of the biggest eye catchers for the youth was the display opposite the Order of Canada.

Here the kids get to see the Jersey of Canada's "Rockstar" of hockey, the one and only Sidney Crosby from Cole Harbour (Halifax) Nova Scotia. (Current Captain of the NHL's Penguins.)

In the same area they will find the signed basketball of international acclaimed Steve Nash, South African born but raised in Victoria BC. He is the current eldest player in the game and is with the LA Lakers and not long ago recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Not bad eh! Two Canadians...one from each end of the country known to the world. That's what being a Canadian is all about...if you just go searching. And in between there were lots of others duly noted for their efforts to make Canada and the world a better place.

Award winning actor Michael J Fox is recognized here for his incredible work in the area of Parkinson's Disease, Clara Hughes gets most honourable mention for her speed skating championships and Guy LaLiberte, one of the co-founders of the Circus Du Soloil is also well represented, as are many other famous Canadians.

Note in the above image the students with their clipboards. On these are scavenger hunt activity sheets. These allow the children to explore all exhibits and then take questions to see what they have learned.

The visitor is shown many of the famous folks they have heard of and get to learn more about each, but that is just the carrot... so to speak. The exhibit quickly moves into the whole area of the awards system and with many displays brings to the visitor an image, or in many cases an actual medal they can see. Some they can even touch and hold!

The aim of this website and these blogs is to bring you stories of over 100 Canadian war heroes, and those with connections to Canada that have who earned the American Medal of Honor. That aim was expanded several months ago to also include stories about the Canadian Victoria Cross recipients.

A distant relative of my family earned a VC, I have interviewed Canada's last living VC recipient five times and have actually held three different VC medal groupings over the years, 2 dating to the earliest days of the medal in the 1850's. For any military man or woman, you can readily understand such interest since. I have also a very strong interest in the Order of Canada and the Persons Award as my late mother was a very proud recipient of both these, two Queen's, and the Canada 125th medal and of course her WW11 medals.

Thus my strongest of reasons to go to Duncan a few weeks back to view this exhibit and bring you this story.

I was pleased to see the images of the Victoria Cross on static display. The one above tells of the new Canadian medals created a few years back, one being a Canadian version of the British VC. Ours now reads...Pro Valor, for reasons explained in the exhibit. There is also an interesting story about the actual metals used in the building of these new most prestigious awards for heroism.

At the top of the new order of medals are of course the Victoria Cross, the Star of Valour and the Medal of Military Bravery. These form the group called the Military Valour Awards. One of the exhibits actually includes all three in a display. Criteria for each is explained. These are a must to see by all Canadians.

The next three in the order are part of a group called the Decorations for Bravery, and again criteria is available at the exhibits that include actual medals on display. In order, they are the Cross of Valour, the Star of Courage and the Medal of Bravery.

Another one of the VC displays has a wonderful image and details of the actual medal. I was thrilled to see that the web site for this 2 year long exhibit contains quite a lot of images of the tour so far. They show lots of detail, from inside the vehicle and bring you images of visitors and actual recipients to boot. At this site, if you click on an image it contains a brief description of what you are looking at.

At the bottom left of this image is the monument that you saw in my last few blogs for Duncan BC born Major Hoey, who was awarded the Military Cross, and then soon after,.and 60 years ago this week earned his Victoria Cross posthumously. (Covered recently in tis space, he will be again mentioned in Friday's blog.)

This image is an enlargement of that in above picture, 2nd row from bottom and at far right.

As mentioned above, by clicking on the image you get brief details as now seen here on the right.

It is indeed an honour to have appeared on this site.

Note the proud "Heroes Live Forever" cap and the 150th remembrance of the famous 3 days of battle at Gettysburg Pa shirt worn.

There may have been upwards of 700 Canadians on that battlefield and there are certainly dozens buried there today.

Much has been written on this site of my recent 21 day visit to there and Washington DC back in September/October of last year to continue my research on these mostly unknown Canadian heroes.

Here is one of the exhibits for the Order of Canada, It seems to depict an actual ceremony probably at Ottawa for the presentation of medals to new awardees at various levels at one point or another.

Note also the actual medal at lower right

It is fasten to the exhibit by a spring loaded wire so that it can be removed and brought closer to get a better look... and feel.

Throughout out the exhibit there are a number of these, and folks who are really interested get to touch and feel and remember what is it to hold such an honourable and high award created by this great country of ours for our heroes.

I am sure the kids loved them.

The organizers have also given us a treat. They have taken steps to contact actual recipients of the various medals and invited them to come out and see the exhibit as it passed by their locations. Men and woman and children have all come out who are actual recipients. And if you go to see this exhibit you may very well run into one of these heroes and get to shake their hand and hear their stories and share their pride.

Don't forget to thank them for their service! Believe me... it means something to them.

Let me give you an example. Several years ago in Halifax I was riding the bus one day and an older couple got on the bus. The lady was wearing her proud pin that accompanied the Order of Canada. It is a miniature that is worn as a lapel pin. They both were so appreciative. But better yet, the smile that came on her face when I asked what she had done to earn the Order of Canada was indescribable. I think she was just so happy that someone just recognized the incredible award.

Sadly most don't.

There are eight exhibits that are interactive. That means that you can push some buttons to get some info or do some research. In the one above I selected one of many data banks of various medal recipients... that of course being the Order of Canada and typed in my late mother's name. She is listed 2nd from the top on this particular screen.

While at the exhibit in Duncan I was approached by well known Black Press photographer Andrew Leong with the request that he take a few images of my visit. On 5 Feb I was surprised to see that one of his pictures appeared on the very front cover of the paper, shown on the left.

Before ending this blog I want to make special mention of the exhibit to Canadian and now world famous Chris Hadfield. He's the fellow, as if you don't know, who is the first Canadian to have walked in space and has travelled around earth 2,500 times... but mostly he rode... hehe.

Hadfield's message to the young and the old is that you ought not to allow obstructions or obstructionists to get in your way of making dreams come true. And he ought to know. He is afraid of heights!

Yet that did not stop him in helping to build the Canadarm 2...while in space. And having visited two space stations he ended up commanding the international station at the very time that the Canadian government revealed its new $5 bill with images of an astronaut, Canadarm 2 and the two armed robot cutely named Dextre.

His motivating and very inspiring message is brought to the viewer by way of a fascinating hologram, and is in itself, worth the trip to venture out and see this exhibit.

I'll return with some more on the exhibit on Friday.

In the mean time I must mention that most of the images contained here in the last two blogs have been courtesy of Rideau Hall and their on road crew taken since July of 2013 and also to the Cowichan Leader Pictorial.

Today's blog was late because it was soooooooooo long.

See you again tomorrow, and till then Google the ..."It's an Honour" website for lots of great info on this most worthwhile endeavor.

Bart

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Part 2 ... Gave away 4 leaf Clover, bravery cost his life, awaded Victoria Cross Posthumously

Couldn't have been a triskaidekaphobiac, so gave away 4 Leaf Clover. Bravery cost his life. Awarded Victoria Cross posthumously!

Plans have been forced to change and thus my Wed blog will back on schedule for Wednesday... not Tuesday. Sorry for the unavoidable changes, but apparently life happens.

Great Timing for A MAJOR Medal of Honor announcement about a week ago!

computer problems have delayed today's post till tomorrow by 6 pm... sorry folks... BA

Genealogical searches are like playing with a metal detector. You haven't a clue what will turn up!

Another Medal of Honor Mystery Solved in Canada... Part 2

Another Medal of Honor Mystery Solved in Canada... sort of!

"Its an Honour" part 3

"It's an Honour" part 2

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Bart Armstrong

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