Translated/adapted from the Groninger dialect. The story, entitled "Oorlogsveteroanen," was published on www.dideldom.com under the name of Jan Prak, Sense's pseudonym.

For many years, my wife and I were respite workers. We were but two of many sent out by a community care agency to homes where one of the partners suffered from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or other disabling conditions. Both of us received special training to prepare us for this often demanding work.

Life for the normal care giver can be a real challenge. Receiving respite from being homebound with your loved one can be a tremendous relief, also to the patient him/herself. This is often the time they finally can get some sleep, or visit a friend, or do some shopping. The time spent by the respite worker and the patient alone can be a very meaningful experience. A lot is talked about. At least, that was my experience.

This story focuses on my patient named Jack Alguire, a very tall man, but only a shadow of his former self when I visited him. Once a busy construction engineer, he had been involved in some pretty awesome building projects. During the last war, he had served with the R.C.A.F. as a navigator and had seen action overseas.

Following his retirement he and Shirley, his wife, made one of many trips to Florida, where his daughter lived. There he suffered a massive heart attack. He was airlifted to a Toronto hospital where he underwent major surgery. Frail and partly paralyzed he was allowed to return home in St. Catharines, Ontario. He would never be the same again and needed constant care. When I got to know Jack, a home care worker gave him a bath each day and dressed him. His body was frail, but that mind of his was still sharp.

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It wasn't the first time I had to care for a WW II veteran. My first patient was Alec McCallum who suffered from Alzheimer's Syndrome. Alec served on an English torpedo-boat destroyer. In 1941, his ship had participated in the chase and eventual sinking of the 45,000-ton "Bismarck," a famous, but dreaded German battleship. I had read much about that battle....

Alec's eyes filled up with tears when I mentioned the name "Hood." This modern English warship had blown up after receiving a salvo from the "Bismarck," during a battle in the northern Atlantic Ocean. As its magazine exploded, the "Hood" broke in two taking 1500 of her sailors to the bottom. Only three survived. Alec was deeply affected by this great tragedy, which took place more than fifty years ago. Did he know some of his friends who died that day?

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Jack is my second patient. He received his training, as a navigator on a Mosquito bomber, first in Guelph, Ont., and later in Ancienne Loretta, Quebec. In Nova Scotia, he got a month training in "battlefield survival" and was assigned to the Greenwood Air Force Base. That is where he met his future pilot, a man named George Walker. Flight Lieutenant Walker had flown bombers for many years. He fought with Montgomery's forces during the North African campaign. To be personally picked by such an experienced officer was certainly a great honor, Jack told me.

They hit it off extremely well. And, so, a life-long friendship started....

At this point in our discussion, Jack suddenly began to weep.

"Is he still alive, you think? We went through so much together and I haven't seen or heard from him in years," he cried. As he calmed down, he told me that George used to live in Sarnia, Ontario - a place I knew well because we lived there for some five years. An idea began to form in my head.

Later that year we visited my wife's two sisters in Sarnia.

There were at least 25 Walkers in the phone book, I noticed. I dialed a number at random, and I hit the jackpot. Mrs. Walker was really excited when I mentioned Jack's name. She said George was suffering from Alzheimer's but they both would be glad to see me. I immediately drove down there. They asked many questions about Jack. George walked around in a daze, bringing me all kinds of memorabilia from the war - even a miniature Mosquito bomber. They showed me a photo of the two of them together. Jack was at least a head taller compared to George.

During my normal visit with Jack the next week, I carefully conveyed to him that I had seen George in Sarnia. His eyes lit up. "You want to talk with him on the phone?" I said. "Yes, yes, please," he replied.

Soon two war veterans - who in the year 2000 did not know either of them was still alive - started to have a most exciting conversation. It was very moving to observe Jack. He laughed, talked and cried all at the same time. Suddenly, Jack shouted in the phone: " George, do you still remember the identification code we used on the radio?" Jack listened, and shouted: "That's it, George, that's it, you beggar. It's 'Carbine 644.' You bet, that's it!"

That same year, Shirley and Jack visited family in London, Ontario. From there they drove the extra sixty miles to Sarnia and spent some time with Mr. & Mrs. Walker. It would be their last visit together.

Jack and George stayed together to the end of WW II. They left Nova Scotia on the fast liner "Ile de France" and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland. Then they took a train to an English aerodrome. From there they flew a number of missions into occupied Europe. During November 1944 they were transferred to airfields near Paris (Rosieres) and then Brussels (Melsbroeck).

There was room for only two people on a Mosquito bomber. George, the pilot, sat up front. Somewhat to the side behind him, but lower, sat Jack with his maps and navigation gear. A Mosquito had two mighty Merlin motors. The plane itself was made of wood.

Mosquito bomber

A Toronto plant - The Havilland Aircraft Factory - made many Mosquitos. They could be taken apart for shipment to England. There the planes were assembled and the Merlins installed.

The Germans feared these planes with a holy terror, because they were nearly invisible on their radar screens. Painted black, with a top speed of 600 km/hr, they would approach their targets at about 200 meters above ground. The plane could hold six heavy bombs and could spray targets with one or more of six machine guns and four canons. Their range was about 2500 kilometers. They were used for such tasks as: dropping agents into Europe, photo reconnaissance and, of course, bombing missions.

Jack showed me a bunch of maps he and other allied pilots used during the war. He explained he would navigate over Europe using so-called "G Lines." Following these indicators, he always knew exactly where he was, be it in Holland, Belgium or Germany. The maps clearly indicated the spots where allied pilots had indicated the presence of German anti-aircraft batteries. Constantly updating the maps, navigators were able to avoid those spots. I clearly saw on the maps some very familiar areas: the city of Groningen, Sappemeer, Zuidbroek, Winschoten, (my home town), Nieuweschans, and German cities like Emden, Bremen, Hamburg, etc.

As a ten-year old boy I often gazed up at the heavens when the allied bombers would come from the west over our town. Flying very high, but with their unmistakable, steady roar, they would fly eastwards. At night, I would climb up on our flat roof over the rear of our house and observe the searchlights from the German city of Emden - really not all that far away from us. One always will remember such moments.

One day stands out among many. That day a British fighter aircraft came diving out of the western sky over the Acacialaan and began unloading its machine guns and canons right above my head. I heard later they knew the location of a Gestapo nest next to the canal near our house. To this day, I can still see those long, brass cartridges falling rapidly around me. Amazingly, not one hit me!

George and Jack flew many missions from either England. France or Belgium to targets such as Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Kiel and Frankfurt. May be they came right over our town, who knows?

The winter of 1944/1945 - when they flew many of their missions - was the worst time of the war. Those were, indeed, dark days for many Netherlanders. The thousand-year reign of the German Reich had only just started. Just imagine what the world would be like if the Nazis had won!

George Walker, Jack Alguire, Alec McCallum did their duty, as did thousands and thousands more. Soon all our war veterans will just be a footnote in our history books. Let us continue to thank them, and those who died, for the cause of freedom

Tell it to your kids. And honor them always!