Veterans Day Speech, Remembrance Day
So I have been asked to speak at a Veterans Day ceremony this Friday. I hardly seem worthy of addressing those who were brave enough to risk their lives for my freedom. I thought long and hard about what I would say. I finally decided that I would try to embody what my grandfather would […]
Jack Kotlovker
I can not emphasize enough to everyone that you just never know who has family members who served in the Aleutian Islands in WW2. About a month ago, I was in my daughters fourth grade classroom discussing the blog with the greatest teacher on earth, Mr. Leduc (he made me say that), when the […]
Made the ABC-7 News!
Today my grandfather is looking down on me with pride. I conquered my fear of being on camera and completed, quite painlessly, the first of many (I hope) television interviews regarding the site. Thanks to John McQuiston of ABC-7 News for giving me the opportunity to share my story with so many. This aired today […]
P-40 In My Backyard
Many days on this journey so far have been filled the most wonderful and amazing encounters. My belief has always been that every person you meet has a reason for crossing your path, divine timing, I like to call it. And this journey has, time and time again, been a prime example of that. For […]
Update F/O Louis Cochand
An interesting thing about how the story of F/O Louis Cochand unfolded was by the way in which it came to me. About a month after communicating with the daughter of RCAF S/L Hal Gooding, who flew with my grandfather in the 111(F), I received an email from a man named Chas Cochand. He […]
RCAF F/O Louis Cochand
Along with the RCAF 111(F) Squadron, the RCAF 14(F) Squadron arrived in Umnak, AK in March, 1943 to aide in the war in Alaska. Louis Cochand was part of that 15 strong P-40 Kittyhawk squadron. Flying Officer Cochand was from St. Marguerite, Quebec. He joined the RCAF as a fighter pilot at the age of […]
Unalaska Plane Wrecks- Mission of Honor
On July 16th, 1942, 12 RCAF Kittyhawks, 21 pilots and 60 ground crew were sent to the most forward base at that time on Umnak Island in the Aleutian chain. They were to relieve the equivalent number of of personnel in the AAF No.11 Pursuit Squadron. Their route of 1100 miles, consisted of fueling stops […]
Report From The Aleutians (1942)
One of the first things I ordered when I started researching the war in Alaska was this 42 minute video called Report Form The Aleutians. The video looks at the first part of the Aleutian Campaign and was made in 1942 by the U.S. government so as you can imagine, it tells a somewhat censored […]
70 Years Later- It’s Still A Small World
This story is exactly one reason why I am doing this blog. I was so moved by the way this event unfolded. I pray that this site can bring more exceptional experiences to families like the one I just shared with Grant Workman and Wally Peacock, brother of F/0 Billy Peacock. Billy Peacock flew […]
RCAF 111 (f) Squadron
This Flordia Beaches To The Bering Sea project all got started when my neighbor Terry asked me what kind of plane my grandfather flew in the war. It had been over a decade since I last studied the entries in his flight log book which were now thousands of miles away at my parents house […]