Jack C. Thomas was born on June 4, 1923, in Blenheim, Ontario, where he grew up in a family of 7.  Jack’s early life was tough and he quit school and started at construction and factory work. Well aware of the war in Europe Jack was eager to join, particularly the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force); he already had an older brother in the service, so he joined up when he turned 18.  After basic training, he was sent to Lachine, Quebec then to Mont Joli Quebec, where he took a gunnery course and was promoted to sergeant. From there, Jack was sent “overseas” to Newfoundland to complete the rest of his training.  On July 1, 1942 Jack was shipped off to Europe on a troop ship. They landed in Liverpool, England and then transferred over to Bournemouth. Jack completed some additional training before being finally assigned to a squadron. He was attached to RAF 190 Squadron, where Jack was a tail gunner on Short Stirling four engine planes, with a 4 man crew. Jack’s missions and objectives were quite unique; instead of dropping bombs over Germany, Jack and the crew were dropping supplies to the French and Spanish Resistance, helping the local population and fellow downed airmen. But a first real taste of combat came in their next 4 missions, flown in support of D-Day. On June 5, 1944, their mission was to drop 25 British paratroopers into France to take and hold a bridge; this drop was successful. In the fall of 1944 more danger ensued as they endured heavy flak during the next 3 missions, flown as part of the Battle of Arnhem.  On one of those missions their plane was hit, and Jack had to bail out.  He was seriously injured on his landing, and he and the flight engineer surrendered to German troops. He initially spent time in hospital, and was later sent to Dulag Luft for interrogation. After that, Jack was then transferred to a stalag, where he was given a job of handing out the daily food to the soldiers. Jack’s camp was liberated by American troops in the spring of 1945, and he returned to England via hospital ship, where he recovered from all he had been through.  He was then able to return to Canada and to find his way in the rhythms of civilian life.  Jack Thomas was interviewed by Zach Dunn of Global Veterans Stories in January 2025, and Zach was kind enough to share this story with Crestwood.  Zach’s other work can be accessed at https://www.rememberingcanadasveterans.com/.