September 2007 - Legion Magazine

1Sep 2007

By Linda Hersey9 Comments

O Canada

The Sad Story Of Partridge Island

PHOTO: MARK HEMMINGS/NEW BRUNSWICK MUSEUM COLLECTION—X13631 Partridge Island, viewed from Saint John. It's considered one of the best-kept historical secrets in the country--Partridge Island, also known as Canada's Emerald Isle. But unless you've got special permission from the Canadian Coast Guard, about the only way you'll get a good look at this national and provincial historic site is through a pair of binoculars from the mainland in Saint John, N.B. Located at the mouth of Saint John Harbour, this modest--approximately 24 acres--piece of real estate is connected to the mainland by an old stone breakwater. According to native legend, the ...

1Sep 2007

By Adam Day9 Comments

Defence Today

Operation Medusa: The Battle For Panjwai

PHOTOS: DND; CHARLES COMPANY; ADAM DAY A Canadian soldier ducks as a helicopter lifts off during Operation Medusa. Inset top: across the Arghandab River, the area around the white school burns as the Canadians attack. Inset bottom: the town of Bazaar-e-Panjwai with Mar Ghar in the background. Part 1: The Charge of Charles Company. Within sight of the infamous white schoolhouse, epicentre of the insurgency in Kandahar province, the hastily assembled Canadian force entered the kill zone. An enemy signal flare shot up across Charles Company's lead elements and there aren't many polite words to describe what happened next. Rick Nolan died. 7 Platoon's warrant officer, its heart and soul, was s...

1Sep 2007

By Terry CoppNo Comments

Army

Draining The Devil’s Brigade: Army, Part 72

PHOTOS: FREDERICK G. WHITCOMBE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA128977; R. NYE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA183870; FREDERICK G. WHITCOMBE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA167659 Clockwise from top: The First Special Service Force uses mules to transport supplies in Italy; FSSF members camouflage their faces near Anzio in 1944; the shoulder flash of the FSSF. Italy, Normandy's 'Long Right Flank', was the theme of University of New Brunswick historian Lee Windsor's keynote address to the 18th Annual Military History Conference at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. Dr. Windsor, a passionate and compelling speaker, made the case for evaluating success or failure in Italy in terms of the im...

1Sep 2007

By Hugh A. Halliday1 Comment

Air Force

Tales Of Flight: Air Force, Part 23

PHOTOS: D.M. SMITH/LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA125359; CANADIAN FORCES—PL110312; LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA065176 Clockwise from top: Flight sergeants imprisoned at Stalag VIII B prisoner-of-war camp pose for a photo; Flight Lieutenant Hubert Brooks; Canadian Red Cross parcels bound for prisoners of war. An article in the May/June issue described the adventures of aircrew who evaded capture after being shot down over enemy territory. In those situations, air force personnel often had an advantage over soldiers in that--having force-landed or bailed out--they usually had some time to organize their getaway. With escapes from PoW camps, however, soldiers, sailors and airmen ...

1Sep 2007

By Marc MilnerNo Comments

Navy

Starting Wartime Expansion: Navy, Part 23

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA104282 St. Croix, St. Francis and Columbia were three of the over-age destroyers given to the RCN. The fall of western Europe to the Nazis by the end of June 1940 changed the nature of the war profoundly. Britain now stood alone in Europe against not only Germany and Italy, but also Germany's notional ally, the Soviet Union. It was a formidable array. Europe, from North Cape, Norway, in the Arctic to the Straits of Gibraltar, was either at war with Britain or, in the case of Spain, openly hostile, while the whole Mediterranean was a war zone. Britain's very survival now depended on her ability to withstand the onslau...

1Sep 2007

By Graham ChandlerNo Comments

O Canada

Iceberg Wranglers

PHOTOS: PARKS CANADA/W. LYNCH 01.10.19(20); PARKS CANADA/W. LYNCH 13.01.03.19(30); HIBERNIA MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD. An iceberg in Swale Tickle off Newfoundland. Inset left to right: Icebergs along the east coast of Bylot Island; Hibernia crew on a support vessel perform exercises outside St. John's. How do you get a menacing 200,000-ton iceberg out of the way? You lasso it. For captains of offshore anchor handling and supply vessels off Newfoundland's east coast, it's just part of the job. On our landing approach, banking low over St. John's harbour on a clear June afternoon, majestic blue-hued icebergs are a welcome contrast to the rocks of Newfoundland's eastern shores. ...

Month: September 2007

The Sad Story Of Partridge Island

Operation Medusa: The Battle For Panjwai

Draining The Devil’s Brigade: Army, Part 72

Tales Of Flight: Air Force, Part 23

Starting Wartime Expansion: Navy, Part 23

Iceberg Wranglers

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