91 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca FEFCHAK, John PEACETIME John was born in the RM of Pipestone, MB in 1933. He joined the RCAF during the Korean War. He served with 108 Com.Flt, 426 Squadron, 437 Squadron, Air Trans Port Command Headquarters in Canada – Cold War Service during Peacetime. He served under two reigning monarchs and under two different flags of Canada. He served in many military bases in Canada and was associated with several different Commands and Operations. He enlisted at Brandon, MB on April 4, 1951 at the age of seventeen. He did the indoctrination basics at St. Jean, QC and his technical schooling at Camp Borden, ON. In 1955, he was posted into the far north with 108 Com. Flt. helicopter operations in the building of the Mid Canada Radar Line. He was qualified on three types of helicopters, as a crewman, and awarded the badge of a Flight Technician. In later years, he was honoured and proudly wears the Sikorsky “Winged S” award for life-saving achievements in Search and Rescue operations and was also awarded the CD with Clasp. He was on hangar line duty at CFB Trenton when the Avro Arrow landed at the base on February 2, 1959. He was promoted to Flt/Sgt in 1965. John has been a member of Virden Legion Branch 8 for nine years. FERRIS, Gordon James WWII Gordon was born in Bluesky, Alberta on September 26, 1923. He enlisted in the Army and served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in Normandy, France during World War II. Rifleman Gordon Ferris stormed Juno Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944, a Black Devil of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and was taken prisoner by the German SS after the battle at Putot-enBessin, Normandy two days later. He was the Regimental Buglar for the RWR, but found himself running for his life through a grain field when the SS firing squad turned on the sixty plus Canadian soldiers, only to be captured again two nights later. His record states: “Missing 8 June 1944 from Unit RWR”. He was a Prisoner of War in Stalag 12A then moved to Stalag 4B. He was safe in the United Kingdom on May 14, 1945. He spent nine months as a POW in deplorable conditions with the constant threat of execution. He testified at the War Crimes trial against General Kurt Meyer, who was sentenced to death for the atrocities he ordered that day in 1944. Portage la Prairie became Gordon’s home. He may not have died on the battlefield, but his life ended there. Gordon passed away in 2012. FINCARYK, Laddie Walter WWII Laddie was born in Sturgis, Saskatchewan on March 7, 1916. He enlisted in the Canadian Army on January 10, 1943 in Regina, SK under the National Resources Mobilization Act 1940. He served during World War II in Canada, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe with the Regina Rifles Regiment as a Rifleman. Laddie was discharged on March 6, 1946 in Regina to return to civilian life on demobilization. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion in Sturgis, SK. Laddie passed away on April 22, 1989.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==