49 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca DEALLY, James WWI James was born in 1879 in Alloa, Scotland. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in Winnipeg, Manitoba and served in World War I. He was wounded twice and was discharged in October 1917. James died either in 1954 or 1955. DEAN, George “Scotty” WWII Scotty was born in Espanola, Ontario in 1920 and he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. Posted to England in August 1942, he was assigned to the RAF Operational Training Unit at Bicester. He flew Blenheim IV light bombers in low-level raids over Northern Europe. Assigned to 18 Squadron in 1943, they were supplied the new Douglas Boston III and posted to Foggia, Italy via North Africa. On February 7, 1944, Scotty and his crew flew on a raid over roads near Rome. On their way back to base, they were mistaken for an enemy aircraft and were shot down. His death was confirmed in January 1945. Scotty loved the outdoors and played hockey and baseball with the Pine Falls Rovers. His service was commemorated in the naming of Dean Creek near Park Lake in the Whiteshell Park. DECOSSE, Gregory G. J. PEACETIME Gregory was born in 1982 in Swan Lake, Manitoba. He joined the Canadian Army in 2001 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and did his basic training in St. Jean, Quebec. Master Corporal Decosse has served in Canada and also did a tour in Afghanistan in 2008. He is currently serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry at CFB Shilo, Manitoba. Gregory has received the International Security Assistance Force Medal. DEAN, Raymond Felix “Ray” WWII Raymond was born in 1917 and grew up in Pine Falls. He joined the Army in 1940 and served with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 2nd Armoured Brigade Army, spending 40 months of active duty at the fronts of North Africa, Sicily and the Italian peninsula. Later, with his unit, he took part in the DDay invasion on June 6, 1944. Subsequently, his CO was killed in action and Ray found himself commander, leading infantry and tanks into a small town in Normandy, liberating it. Ray was awarded six medals and in 1946, received the Oak Leaf Emblem for distinguished service. After his death in 1982, three islands on Bird Lake in the Whiteshell Provincial Park were named Dean Islands. In November 1982, a cousin, John Dean, scattered Ray’s ashes over the islands from an airplane above the lake.
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