LEST WE FORGET 355 VAXVICK, Kalmer WWII Kalmer Vaxvick was born on the family homestead south of Glenside on June 30, 1912. He helped on the family farm and worked in a number of places in Saskatchewan, mainly as a self-taught mechanic. Hard times in the 1930’s sent him to Ontario in search of work. However, he never lost his love for the farm. During World War II, he served with the RCAF, posted in England as ground crew for Lancaster bombers. He remembers meeting the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret riding their bikes near a hangar where he was working. After the war, he married Mary McPherson. They spent most of their married lives in Scarborough. The couple enjoyed travel vacations to Hawaii, Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida. Kalmer died in 2006 at the age of 93. He is buried in Green Valley Lutheran Church Cemetery, southwest of Glenside, near the family homestead. VIETS, Alexander Griswold BOERWAR &WWI Alexander Griswold Viets was born on April 25, 1878 in Digby, Nova Scotia. His parents were John Moors and Jane Snow Viets. He served in the Boer War with the 3rd Canadian Rifles. As a reward for that service he was granted land in Western Canada. In 1908, he was working as a bookkeeper in Moose Jaw when he received his land grant. He moved to Outlook, Saskatchewan, in 1909 where he worked for Outlook Realty and became the first Town Secretary. He was also Warden at St. Mark’s Anglican Church. He joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on September 3, 1914. A mortar bomb landed beside him at Ypres Salient in May of 1915, destroying his eyes and wounding his face, arms and legs. After recovery, he became the first soldier blinded in WWI to return to Canada. He married Mary Elizabeth Moody on April 25, 1917. Alexander Viets worked for an insurance company until his death on April 22, 1949. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto. Viets was instrumental in founding the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. VERAAS, Audfinn WWII Audfinn Veraas was born on June 11, 1924 in Lindas, Norway, to Frederick and Anna Veraas. The Veraas family moved to Strongfield where they operated a store and farmed. Audfinn was working in Regina as a mechanic when he enlisted in the RCAF on July 17, 1942. Flight Sergeant Veraas was attached to 102 Squadron based in Full Sutton, Yorkshire. This heavy bomber squadron was active from the second day of World War II. Its early missions included dropping anti-Nazi leaflets in raids over Germany, followed by thousands of bombing raids as the war progressed. Audfinn Veraas’ Hanley Page Halifax bomber failed to return from a bombing raid over Hamburg on July 30, 1943. Audfinn was nineteen. Flight Sergeant Audfinn Veraas is commemorated at Runnymede Memorial near London.
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