Recognition at long last for Bomber Command Queen unveils tr

[styky]

Recognition at long last for Bomber Command
Queen unveils tribute to Second World War flyers

By: Katherine Dow
CAPT. Edward Chenier wore his navy blue veteran's blazer when he arrived home in Winnipeg from a special trip to England. He carried his medals in his carry-on with a brand-new one still wrapped in plastic.

The proud veteran of the Second World War had been invited on a trip to London by Veterans Affairs Canada, along with hundreds of other Bomber Command veterans, to witness Queen Elizabeth unveil a tribute to these flyers. The tribute came in the form of a sculpture meant to honour Bomber Command, which flew massive night raids over Nazi-occupied Europe.

The statue is an eight-ton bronze depiction of a seven-man bomber. Each soldier looks to the sky for surviving comrades. The monument is protected by a roof constructed from recovered aluminum of a Canadian Halifax bomber. The monument sits in Green Park across from Buckingham Palace.

Chenier was one of 42 Canadian pilots, navigators, radio operators and gunners invited to attend its unveiling on June 28. Each received a new medal as a token of thanks from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Chenier said the veterans were accompanied from Ottawa by Veteran Affairs Minister Steven Blaney on the prime minister's plane.

"Flying in style," Chenier joked.

Chenier flew in less opulent surroundings as a wireless operator and air gunner with the RCAF during the Second World War. He was in Squadron 425 and flew 15 operations in a Halifax bomber over Germany...................http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breaki ... 07895.html