Every year I feel a deep sense of loss for my colleagues who were killed or injured during that period of time when the democratic nations of the West recognized it was important to build a barrier against the threat of forced communism.

Canada's contribution to international peace during the Cold War included its participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which was established in the late 1 940s, and the North American Air Defence Agreement announced in 1957. The latter, which integrated the air defence forces of Canada and the United States, was renamed the North American Aerospace Defence Command in 1981.

The military strength deployed during the Cold War was trained and ready to keep the peace by meeting the threat with great numbers and quality forces. Our objective was to avoid a global war, and we did achieve that, but there was certainly a price to pay along the way.

I joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1952 and my career as a fighter pilot was channelled into air defence against the Soviet bomber threat and later into the European NATO theatre of operations It was a perilous time and we defenders of democracy in the sky lost a lot of friends who, I'm sorry to say, are remembered by their fellow aircrew, but mostly forgotten by the public.

It is not my intent to chronicle the many fatalities, let alone serious accidents that occurred during my time in the air force, but it might be appropriate to provide some examples taken from my personal involvement. I do this with the hope of adding something to our understanding of the importance of Remembrance Day and to recognize the dedication, courage and self-sacrifice of Canada's Cold War servicemen.

Not long after I got my wings, I witnessed my first air fatality while training in the skies over North Bay, Ont. The flying conditions at the time were quite dangerous and I'll never forget the sight of a colleague's CF-100 aircraft ricocheting off the hills in a ball of fire. Shortly after that accident I was assigned to 445 Squadron in Ottawa. This was my first operational squadron and I remember the day I was waiting for the squadron commander to land so I could fly his aircraft on a night-training combat air patrol. Sadly, my squadron commander crashed not far from our base and we were all bussed out to the crash site where we received instructions to search for human remains from the lung cavity. This was because the base flight surgeon thought that the crash might be due to anoxia, a condition that occurs when there is an absence of oxygen reaching the tissues.

Among the various body parts was what appeared to be sections of a human chest. These were located on a tree limb. In a nearby crater, I found a hand that was still clutching the aircraft's control column. The plane's pilot and navigator had flown many missions during WW II, but died in Canada during the Cold War.

A couple of weeks later I was hunting partridge near the end of the runway when I witnessed a reserve pilot being blown from his P-SI Mustang. Seconds later, while running to the crash site, I tripped over his still body. Not long after that I was posted to the weapons test centre at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where I watched a good friend crash upside down on takeoff. Weeks later, another colleague was forced to bail out over the Gulf of Mexico. His body was never found. Just days before, my wife and I had met him and his wife at a birthday party.

Back in Ottawa, I witnessed the crash of another plane before I was posted the following year to Germany where I joined 440 Sqdn., one of the 12 squadrons of RCAF aircraft providing primary air defence in western Europe. A number of Canadian aircrew were killed during operational training or while flying the border with East Germany and Czechoslovakia with cocked guns and MiG fighter Jets patrolling the other side. The worst day I can recall was when a formation of four jets crashed near CFB Baden-Soellingen. All four Canadian pilots died and their funerals expanded the Canadian section of the military cemetery at Metz, France.

Fortunately, my squadron did not experience any losses and, subsequently, during my next posting in Sardinia, we had no fatalities, although our comrades in the Italian and German air forces at the same base were not so lucky. I attributed our good fortune on the Mediterranean island to the fact that the weather was good and the mission of weapon practice firing wasn't so risky.

My point here is not to try to glorify the exploits of NATO or Norad servicemen, but to recognize them for their dedication and willingness to put their life on the line for Canada. They gave us truly "peace in our time" at considerable sacrifice in living conditions as well as valour in the skies. Some did it for the challenge, some for patriotism and others because it was just plain exciting. Ask the veterans of a war and they will recognize the same emotions. Whatever the motivation, we owe it to the citizens of Canada to remind them that they have people to thank for keeping them free during the Cold War.

Article from Legion Magazine, November/December 2000