131 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca KRUGER, Fred C. WWII Fred was born in Ruth, Manitoba in 1920 and enlisted in 1940 with the 97 Squadron RAF, 420 Squadron RCAF, training as a pilot. Overseas, he served as a bomber pilot from 1941-44, completed 52 bombing missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he served with the RCAF as an instructor pilot from 1948-49, was an Officer Commander with Training Command and Air Defense Command from 1949-1953 and RCAF Liaison Officer at Strategic Air Command of 434 Fighter Squadron from 1957-1960. He also worked for NORAD from 1960-63 and was Chief Administrative Officer in Moose Jaw from 1963-67. He retired but worked for the Federal Government until 1985. Fred passed away in 2007. LAIRD, Wilson J. WWII Wilson enlisted with the Winnipeg Grenadiers and served sixteen months in Jamaica. He returned to Canada and went on to train in Quebec, then in England in 1942. Back in Canada, he joined the South Saskatchewan Regiment and was shipped back to England. He was killed in action on October 23, 1944 and is commemorated at Bergen-op-Zoom War Cemetery in Holland. Laird Lake, west of God’s Lake in Manitoba, is named after him. LANE, John Leonard WWII John was born in Thorney Cambridgeshire, England in 1913 and joined the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, serving in Canada, England and Holland. John passed away in 1988 and had been a member of the Birtle Branch #55 of The Royal Canadian Legion for forty years. LAMBERT, Milford Alexander WWII Milford was born in 1919 near McAuley, Manitoba. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 and qualified as an AFM, training in Brandon, Dauphin and St. Thomas, ON. He went overseas on July 31, 1941 and then qualified as a Flight Engineer on a Lancaster. Milford and his 115 Squadron crew failed to return from a raid on Frankfurt, Germany on April 10, 1943. The crew members are buried in the Le Thour Communal Cemetery, Ardennes, France. Milford received the 193945 Star, the Air Crew Europe Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp and the War Service Medal 1939-45. He was also awarded the Flight Engineer’s Badge and the RCAF Operational Wings.
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