THE SCRIBBLER TOO June 2020
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The Scribbler Too A Collection of Short Stories… Some from the Wars, others not; Little known for most. Some amazing facts and some to move you to tears. As put together by Sam Newman and his daughter, Tammy Table of Contents About Your Cordial Scribe …………………………………………………………... 5 About Your Editor …………………………………………………………………….. 5 The Unsung Hero of Dunkirk ……………………………………………………….. 6 Hiroo Onoda ………………………………………………………………………….. 8 The Korean War ……………………………………………………………………… 9 A Poem to Which I Can Relate ……………………………………………………... 10 Man Honours Dad ……………………………………………………………………. 11 RAF Scampton’s Gate Guard is Actually a Bomb ………………………………... 12 An Old Man and His Bucket of Shrimp …………………………………………….. 13 Little Known World War II Facts ……………………………………………………. 15 Wojtek, the Fuzzy Polish Soldier Bear …………………………………………….. 20 Maples for Vimy ………………………………………………………………………. 22 “A Man for all Seasons; A Hero for all Reasons” – Peter Harding ……………… 23 Hallowed Ground, Slapton Sands, England ………………………………………. 25 Martha Raye ………………………………………………………………………….. 26 A Lost and Found Tale from an Unkempt Grave …………………………………. 28 Saving the White Helmets ………………………………………………………….. 30 Hometown Battlefield ………………………………………………………………… 34 Brenda Fredrickson – Recipient of the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers …….. 35 My Buddy is Missing …………………………………………………………………. 36 The Inuk Sniper ………………………………………………………………………. 37 Walking in My Grandfather’s Footsteps …………………………………………… 38 Mary Babnik Brown ………………………………………………………………….. 41 B-36B Ride from Hell ………………………………………………………………… 42 World War II Beer Runs ……………………………………………………………... 44 America’s first “Broken Arrow” incident ……………………………………………. 45 The Lady in White ……………………………………………………………………. 46 Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare …………………………………………….. 47 The Road to Recovering Korean War Remains ………………………………….. 48 The Magnetic North Pole is Moving ……………………………………………….. 49 EAA Member Helps Fight November 2018 California Wildfires ………………… 50 9/11 Through the Eyes of a Firefighter ……………………………………………. 52 Eric Melrose Brown – Highly Decorated British Fleet Air Arm Pilot ……………. 53 A Mistake Never to be Forgiven ……………………………………………………. 55 The SS Daisy …………………………………………………………………………. 55 Shutting Down History ……………………………………………………………….. 56 The Mysterious Moving Island ……………………………………………………… 59 Boss of the Sky – a Great Fighter Pilot Story …………………………………….. 60 British Airways Flight 5390 ………………………………………………………….. 61 Anthem Veterans Memorial …………………………………………………………. 63 Burial at Sea ………………………………………………………………………….. 64 To All Mothers, Wives and Sweethearts …………………………………………... 65 2 Memories of My Grandfather ……………………………………………………….. 67 How History Echoes through the Years …………………………………………… 69 Glass Half Full ………………………………………………………………………... 71 Book Review of David O’Keefe‘s One Day in August ……………………………. 72 Lost Words from our Childhood …………………………………………………….. 73 Only in the Back Woods of Canada ………………………………………………... 74 Operation Fish Egg …………………………………………………………………... 75 The Eagle named Freedom …………………………………………………………. 78 Imjin River Hockey in Korea ………………………………………………………… 79 Railroad Track Widths ……………………………………………………………….. 81 The Bombing of East Grinstead ……………………………………………………. 82 The Farmerettes ……………………………………………………………………… 86 The Women's Land Army …………………………………………………………… 86 Land Girls Employed as Rat Catchers …………………………………………….. 86 The Women's Timber Corps ………………………………………………………… 87 Ron Joyce – The Other Face behind Tim Hortons ……………………………….. 87 Operation Mincemeat Book Review ……………………………………………….. 89 Ode to the Tudor House …………………………………………………………….. 89 The Lint Roller ………………………………………………………………………... 90 The Mystery of the “Big Prop” ………………………………………………………. 91 SS Warrimoo ………………………………………………………………………….. 92 Izzy Dolls ……………………………………………………………………………… 93 Like the Scout Motto says, Be Prepared! …………………………………………. 94 Verse and Sound Stir Vimy Salute …………………………………………………. 95 Angel of Dieppe ………………………………………………………………………. 96 Heroic Efforts on the Rocky Shores of Burin Peninsula, NL …………………….. 98 Message in a Bottle ………………………………………………………………….. 100 The Teardrop Memorial ……………………………………………………………… 101 Lest We Forget ……………………………………………………………………….. 103 Steinbach Woman finds 102-year-old Letter ……………………………………… 104 An Insight on “Black History Month” ……………………………………………….. 105 Radio Broadcasters and Journalists ……………………………………………….. 107 Roger Ptosnick ……………………………………………………………………….. 108 Buchenwald Survivor – Ed Carter-Edwards ………………………………………. 109 Diary of a Little Girl’s Life ……………………………………………………………. 110 The House Behind the House ………………………………………………………. 111 Historic Trail Opens at Former RCAF Base ………………………………………. 112 Wally’s Saddle ………………………………………………………………………... 113 Dominion Command’s First Pilgrimage of Remembrance ………………………. 114 Bringing Stories to Life ………………………………………………………………. 116 Queen Elizabeth II Visits Newfoundland in 1997 …………………………………. 118 Bells of Peace ………………………………………………………………………… 120 The Great Halifax Explosion ………………………………………………………… 121 3 Remembering a Couple who Risked it All …………………………………………. 123 Terry Fox ……………………………………………………………………………… 124 Holten Canadian War Cemetery ……………………………………………………. 125 North America in Most Danger since Height of Cold War ……………………….. 127 The Two EXTRA Silver Darts ………………………………………………………. 128 Volunteers – Our Unsung Heroes ………………………………………………….. 130 The Enemy Within ……………………………………………………………………. 131 Impressive People That I’ve Been Extremely Fortunate to Meet ……………….. 134 Some of the Aircraft of Yesteryear’s Wars ………………………………………… 136 Honorary Captain (N) Allan Hick …………………………………………………… 139 D-Day Clickers ………………………………………………………………………... 139 The Dreyfus Affair ……………………………………………………………………. 140 HMS Ambush …………………………………………………………………………. 142 Eyeglass Eagle Crash ……………………………………………………………….. 143 Walt Disney Productions and World War II ……………………………………….. 147 Stanislawa Leszczyńska …………………………………………………………….. 148 Antoine Verschoot’s last ‘Last Post’ in Ypres ……………………………………... 150 Christmas in Ortono ………………………………………………………………….. 152 About Canadians …………………………………………………………………….. 153 Japanese Canadians in World War Two ………………………………………….. 156 Attacked at 18,000 Feet by a Crew Member ……………………………………… 158 The Dickin Medal …………………………………………………………………….. 159 Air Cadet Insurance Broker Soars to Success! …………………………………… 162 Remembering Hervé Hoffer ………………………………………………………… 163 Bad Angel …………………………………………………………………………….. 165 Ballet and World War Two ………………………………………………………….. 167 Black Tot Day ………………………………………………………………………… 168 One of The Boys ……………………………………………………………………... 169 Ode to Maxine ………………………………………………………………………... 170 Zone Rouge ………………………………………………………………………….. 171 Snoopy ………………………………………………………………………………… 172 Is it Sarah Emma Edmonds or Franklin Flint Thompson? ………………………. 174 Admiral John Byng …………………………………………………………………… 175 HMS Javelin …………………………………………………………………………... 176 Under the Eiffel Tower ………………………………………………………………. 177 What I Learned in Church about Aviation …………………………………………. 178 We Need to Remember ……………………………………………………………... 178 WHAT… Harness the Tidal Power of the Bay of Fundy? ……………………….. 180 NOTAM - Doolittle Raiders Update ………………………………………………… 181 In Closing ……………………………………………………………………………… 181 4 The Scribbler Too is Dedicated to All Cadets: Sam and his daughter, Tammy, are both Canadian Armed Forces Veterans and products of the long established Cadets Canada Program. We are both personally aware of the values of this organization. Presently, it is open to young Canadians, male and female, aged 12 to 18. Anyone can participate. It’s not only designed to be a variety of fun, challenging and rewarding activities, but these youngsters learn valuable life and work skills such as teamwork, leadership, citizenship and much more. Throughout their training, they learn to become actively involved and engaged members of their Communities. Ultimately, they are preparing to become tomorrow’s leaders! We’d like to dedicate ‘THE SCRIBBLER TOO’ to all of them. Thank You, About Your Cordial Scribe Sam Newman was born in Toronto and raised in the gold mining communities of northern Ontario. He served thirty-five years in the military, serving in all three branches. On retirement, he continued to volunteer for several para-military organizations. A former Cadet, he never lost the joy of serving with the Cadet organization with which he has been active for forty-eight years. He enjoys helping others, especially the youth of our Nation. Sam is now retired for the second (or third) time from various part-time jobs where he loved meeting and interacting with many people. He enjoys free time for reading, writing and tinkering around the house. He and his wife, Cathy, have taken some amazing vacations over the years. Family has always been very important and get-togethers are always fun. He feels blessed to have a loving and supportive household. About Your Editor Tammy Newman was born in Ottawa. Her dad, Sam, was in the military and so Tammy was raised around the world. As a teenager and without any pressure from her father, she joined the Air Cadets. In turn, she also went to military college and became an air traffic controller. Her last job was a desk job where she was the editor of Flight Comment, the flight (R - L) Your Cordial Scribe (Sam,) safety magazine of the Canadian Armed your Editor (Tammy) and the Force Forces. Now retired, Tammy enjoys her time behind them both (Cathy.) with husband, Simon, and their cat and dog. She is an avid puzzler and scrap-booker. Tammy likes to travel whether she is visiting her friends and family or getting away from it all with Simon. 5 The Unsung Hero of Dunkirk, by Rick Munroe,