Thursday, December 3, 2020
Memories of Brother Don
Condolences to all of Don's immediate family for their profound loss and my love and sympathy goes out to all of you. My big brother, Don was always my hero and mentor. Don was my protector against my other brother if we got into a dispute or a fight.
Don gave me my first airplane ride, taking off from Saint Hubert in a RCAF yellow Harvard. What a ride! A few rolls and a loop! I muffled, "That's enough!!" from the back seat. Can you imagine the Airforce allowing a member today to take his younger brother for a joy ride? Talking about joy rides he came through Edmonton in the summer of 1973, landing at the Municipal Airport where he proceeded to take our mother, my sister and her daughter, plus all my family for a flight in the Canadair Challenger Executive jet. So once again Don pilots my children for their first jet plane ride.
Don always had many adventurous stories to tell such as:
1) when the outer starboard engine on the B -17 Flying Fortress he was flying caught fire over the Pacific Ocean and he had to make an emergency "Mayday" landing on Christmas Island. He had to stay four months to make repairs before continuing with a Geophysical Magnetic Survey.
2) when he landed in the Congo in the sixties to refuel and he was met by an armed guard rather than a fuel tanker. After some harsh negotiations he finally got refueled. Don advised the co-pilot they were leaving. His co-pilot responded, "Surely Don you are not taking off in this horrendous thunderstorm." Don replied, "You’re damn right we're taking off. I'd rather die flying than be shot or jailed by these guerrillas.''
3) when Don and his fellow RCAF Vampire pilots were sent on Arctic Survival for two weeks in isolated bush after Christmas. They shot a moose the first day, and thus they only had to worry about keeping warm and dry.
In 1955 Don encouraged me to apply to National Defence as a RCAF ROTP (Regular Officer Training Plan) cadet. He recommended that I not go to the Royal Military College, but to a civilian university. The rest is history as I became a navigator on CF100s and a civil engineer.
It was only a year later while visiting him in Brampton that Don helped me buy my first car - a new Ford Fairlane - for $2,058 at Elgin Motors in Toronto rather than purchase a used car. Upon my university graduation Don gave me a four-star eiderdown sleeping bag which I still cherish and use to this day.
Love to all and KEEP SAFE!
From his little brother, Milton
