LEST WE FORGET 237 JAMES, Charles “Charlie” WWII Charlie was born in Strasbourg, Saskatchewan in 1923. He graduated from School in Strasbourg in 1941 and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force that same year. This picture was taken in 1942 after getting his wings as a Pilot in Brandon, Manitoba. He was nineteen years of age at that time. He shipped out for England in November and returned to Canada on VE Day, 1945. Charlie served overseas as a night Fighter Pilot for three years. He was attached to the RAF and crewed up with a Scott from Dundee. They first flew for Ferry Command, flying Beau fighters from England to Morocco, then went on to Egypt. They were then posted to 255 Night Fighter Squadron in Italy flying Beau fighters and at the end of their tour, Mosquitoes. They spent their time chasing the Luftwaffe’s Ju88s and 188s.When not doing that, they did intruder trips into Yugoslavia to the Danube River to stop the oil barges from bringing oil into Germany. After 100 hours of combat and a year on the Squadron, he was sent home. The day he arrived home to Strasbourg, the war in Europe had ended. JASTER, August WWII August was born in Beulah, North Dakota on April 8, 1902. He served with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during World War II in England, Africa, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany before returning home toYorkton, Saskatchewan. The following is an article published in a newspaper after his return from overseas service, dated September 30, 1945. PTE. A. JASTER BACK HOME FROM ACTIVE OVERSEAS SERVICE Another well-knownYorkonite returned home from overseas serviceWednesday. He is Pte. A. Jaster of 189 King Street, with four years service with the R.C.E.M.E. overseas. He saw action in Africa, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland (where he was on V-E Day) and also in Germany from where he returned home. “Our voyage from England to Africa took us fourteen days,” said Pte. Jaster. “In the arc that we had made in the Atlantic we were a day and a half from New York. We were under convoy all the war. We were not bothered by either submarine or air attack.” Pte. Jaster went over on the Queen Elizabeth and also returned on her. “Queen Lizzie, as the boys referred to her,” said Pte. Jaster “would be the ‘the’ ship on which to take a cruise. The dining hall alone holds a crew of 2 000 at a time and is about the size of the dining room in the Fort Garry in Winnipeg. The Queen Elizabeth as the Queen Mary is classed as one of the best afloat. To cross the Atlantic takes her about four and a half days.” “Ordinarily the Queen Elizabeth carries 2 500. Coming over she held from stem to stern some 12 000 army personnel, accompanied by the additional airmen and her crew. I slept in the swimming pool,” smiled Pte. Jaster. “so you can imagine we were in rather cramped quarters.” “I saw,” continued Pte. Jaster, “men who had not so much as blinked an eye in the face of enemy fire. Some of these men were now standing at the railing of the Queen Elizabeth, standing there with tears in their eyes, as they once again saw the beloved Canada that they had left some years ago.” Pte. Jaster said that while he was over, during all the campaigns, the continuous thought of his small boys, Kenny, back home was with him all the time. “He was only six when I left,” he said. “Leaving him back here with his plaintive ‘Daddy, you can’t go’, ringing in my ears seemed the hardest of all.” “When I left home,” grinned Pte. Jaster, “there were eight in my family. When I returned there were four. My oldest daughter had married, and to my surprise I was a grand daddy.” “The thing that I looked forward to most of all in coming home,” remarked the private, “was to our 23rd wedding anniversary on the fifth of November and Mrs. Jaster’s birthday on the ninth. I made it just in time.” Pte. A. Jaster was employed at the department of highways up until the time of his enlistment. August passed away on March 11, 1988.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==