LEST WE FORGET 65 BYERS, Vernon William WWII Vernon was born in 1919, the son of Frank and Ruby Jane (Sargeson) Byers who were Star City pioneers until Frank became a grain buyer in 1918. He was mostly raised by an aunt in Star City and worked on an elevator construction crew until he went mining for HBM&S in Flin Flon in 1940. He was called up for NRMA training in Winnipeg less than a year later and transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force less than two months after that. Pilot Officer Vernon William Byers was killed in action on May 17, 1943. He volunteered to be part of the famous Dambusters, but his Lancaster was shot down over the Frisian Islands, Netherlands enroute to his target, the Sorpe dam. His brother Kenneth also served in the RCAF. He is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial just west of London, England, for airmen who died with no known graves. CAMPBELL, Ronald Charles WWII Ronald was born on October 22, 1924, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. In August 1942, just before his eighteenth birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve at HMCS Unicorn in Saskatoon. He received his basic training and spent two months on Ship Company at HMCS Unicorn. In 1943, he was drafted to HMCS Naden at Esquimalt, BC for completion of his seamanship training. On completion of his seamanship training, he requested a course in Anti-Aircraft Gunnery which was granted. When this course was completed, he was drafted to HMCS Stadacona in Halifax and from there to a small submarine Chaser in Gaspe, Quebec. The flotilla of which his ship was part of, was moved to Newfoundland in the fall of 1943. He remained with that ship until April 1944 when he was drafted to HMCS Brandon with one of the North Atlantic escort groups running from Newfoundland to Ireland. In September 1944, he was given a leave and then sent to HMCS Cornwallis in Digby, Nova Scotia for a higher gunnery course. On completion of this course, he again went overseas and went aboard HMCS Loch Morlich running patrols in the English Channel for a few months after which they returned to Canada just as the European War ended. He then volunteered for Pacific Service and was drafted to HMCS Toronto where he served as a gunnery instructor. In October 1945, he returned to HMCS Unicorn and was demobilized. He received the 1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star with France Germany Clasp, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp and War Medal 1939-1945. He was the recipient of Convoy Cup Foundation Medallion on October 12, 2010. Ronald passed away on August 9, 2020.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==