Trajectory

June 6, 1944.

D-Day.

A fateful day.

The weather was bad in France that day, or so they say. The phases of the moon, the rise and fall of the tides, and the time of day- all had to be taken into account.
So despite the weather, June 6 was the day.
Operation Overlord, code name for the Battle of Normandy that was preceded by the assault of 1200 aircraft that attacked coastal defenses so that 5000 ships and almost 160,000 British, Canadian and American troops could storm the beaches and begin to drive back the Germans.
The assault that turned the tide.
The assault that determined the course of history.
The liberation of Europe.
The Allied victory on the Western Front.
The end of the war in Europe less than a year later.
All part of the trajectory of war.

If the allies hadn't succeeded, how much longer would World War II have lasted?
How many more lives would have been lost?
How much more of the world would have been decimated?
How many more of Hitler's victims would have died?
Without D-Day, the war would have followed an alternate trajectory.
The history of the world would have taken a different path.

Lancaster bombers, D-Day

Just as that day changed the course of history, the results of that day determined the course of my history.

My dad's log book shows three entries as part of Operation Overlord when he and his loyal crew, his good friends Doug Johnston, Burns Foster, Sig Teit, Johnny Knox, were tasked with softening the defenses.  June 4 "OPS Calais. Fair Trip,Gun Emplacements." June 5 "OPS Merville. Good Trip. Gun emplacements." June 6, "OPS Coutances, Good Trip. Excellent Nav, Bridge and Highway, Diverted Colerne."

As my father's Lancaster "S for Smitty" followed its path from Middleton St. George to Caen to Colerne and back,  as his plane moved through space and time, did he know the scope of the mission? Did he know that the fate of Europe hung in the balance? Or, like so many brave young Canadians, did he simply follow orders, trusting his superiors to chart his course? Or did he trust in fate or trust in God?  Or did the crew start that mission, like their 29 other missions, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice?

The odds of survival for bomber command were slim. Their first 17 missions were flown in a Halifax. In 1943 and early 1944, when my dad's crew were stationed with #419 Moose Squadron, the survival rate of a Halifax Crew surviving the 30 missions of a tour of duty were 16%, Overall, the odds of survival ran under 50%.  Did Dad and his crew know what those odds were at the time? Would it have mattered?  Reading his log book, in typical Dad fashion, he minimized the dangers and emphasized the good work of his crew.  The simple phrase, in tiny writing, "hundreds of SL/S...holes in kite" surely downplayed an exciting trip. His entry of July 18, "coned by SL/S ...Hit by flak" is described in the Moose Squadron website in a far more dramatic fashion.

I only remember him telling us two stories of his time in the air.  On one trip the crew witnessed one plane after another going down ahead of them. Defying orders, Dad veered off, surely saving himself and his crew.  In another, a malfunction prevented the plane from dropping its load of bombs. But the plane, with a full tank of fuel and a full load of bombs, was too heavy to land. So they flew out over the ocean, "reduced weight" as the log puts it, and then landed safely at base with a full load of bombs. Moments that defined my Dad.

I wonder if the fact Dad and his crew survived against so many odds influenced how they lived. Did they feel lucky? Did they feel blessed? Did they feel powerful? Did they feel, on some level, that they were saved for a reason? Did they think about how the war made them into the men they would become?

If my father's plane had been shot down, he wouldn't have married my mom. I wouldn't be here. My children would never have been born.There would have been an alternate version of history. One without me in it.

How many stories begin, "It was a fateful day?"  While the phases of the moon and the rise and fall of the tides may influence our trajectory, so too does every act and every accident.  I think of the history of my country, the choices made by my ancestors. The acts, big and small, that influenced history. The small things we say that influence our children and our students in ways we may never know. The flick of a switch. The thrust of a throttle. Who you sat next to on a bus. A car accident. A letter. A relative stranger telling you "You're good at that." A fire.  Day by fateful day, over the course of history, the course of each of our lives, one defining moment after another.  Defining moments that shape you, that make you who you are.  Yet it all could have taken a very different path.

Every day is a fateful day.

My dad and his grandson

Per ardua ad astra

 For my dad, on D-Day

My dad, George Hartford

On D-Day 70 years ago my dad was 21 years old, just a little older than his grandson Hart is today. As part of Operation Overlord, Dad piloted his Lancaster bomber "S for Smitty" over the skies of Normandy, dropping bombs on German coastal defenses, protecting the troops about to land on the beaches below. Among the 14,000 he protected on Juno Beach that day was a man he had never met, medic Sam Martin, a man who would become my uncle. Dad and Uncle Sam and their fellow young Canadians helped turn the tide of the war, leading to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of fascism.

340 Canadian soldiers died on D-Day. Nearly 2,000 Canadians died in the invasion of Normandy. They lie buried not far away in Beny-sur-Mer cemetary. A few years ago, together with my husband and three kids, I visited those quiet graves. It was humbling to walk among the tombstones, reading the epitaphs. We did not say a word. Because what is there to say in the presence of such loss and sacrifice? Would we have been so bold, so selfless, so daring? The unspeakable gratitude for what they provided for future generations hung heavily upon us. 

When the crew of S for Smitty returned to Canada, they were not treated as heroes, nor did they think of themselves as such. My dad was loathe to wear his medals and rarely did he talk about the war. He knew his actions led to peace. He also knew that war causes civilian deaths and he made his peace with that. I know the war shaped those young men in ways I can never understand. 

My dad, known as Ginge to his crew, went on to become an engineer, teacher, school principal, healthcare administrator, mayor, volunteer, dad and granddad. His navigator Doug Johnston became comptroller of McGill University and father to three beautiful girls. McGill offers a scholarship in his name. Bomb aimer Burns or "Fuzz" Foster was a pharmacist with two kids. Dad and his crew maintained contact throughout their lives and I still get emails from Burns and his son Doug. When my dad found his career as an engineer unfulfilling, he wrote to Doug, "Navigator, chart me a course." Doug suggested education and that is where dad spent the bulk of his working life. 



Dad, Doug and Burns were Canada's finest. They along with 1.1 million Canadians risked their lives and then came home and helped build the Canada we love today, with its human rights, free healthcare, first rate education system and opportunities for all. 

I look at today's youth and I wonder who among them would have the courage of those young men. Who would be willing to risk their own lives to preserve the way of life they take for granted? But then I look at my dad's eight grandchildren and I know we will be in good hands. He helped build their country to be a place that is worth fighting for.

Per Ardua Ad Astra: Through Adversity to the Stars

Motto of the Royal Airforce

Burns Foster, Doug Johnston, George Hartford
Paul Piotrowsky, Sig Teit 

The aircrew.
Back row left to right (Unknown, Dick, Wilf, Sig, Dad, Pete, Smitty (he is the boss of the kite), Herb, Pat
Front row Phil (Engine Chief), Doug, Ted,Hank, Johnny, Fuzz
From Dad's writing on the back :How do you like our girl? She never complains of the cold either. Each bomb on the "LOVE" is one trip. We on about 20 of them. Altogether I did 40 and the rest 38.

The ground crew
 The air crew of S for Smitty