Allister ‘Mac’ MacDonald heard the bells on May 8.
But not the same chimes that Barrie and area residents may have heard this past Friday, when local places of worship honoured the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers by ringing their bells 75 times to celebrate VE Day (victory over Europe) in 1945.
MacDonald heard those bells first-hand at what is now known as the Brussels International Airport in Belgium on the day the European conflict began to wind down 75 years ago and locals embraced and celebrated the efforts of Canadian — and Allied — forces.
The spry 96-year-old is quick to smile, reflect and downplay his contribution to the war effort.
“The most important memory I have is when we heard the church bells ringing and we knew VE Day had been declared. That sound of the bells was a huge acceleration for everyone,” he says, proudly wearing his Royal Canadian Legion gear.
He’s been a member of the Stayner legion for 70 years, but also has deep ties to Barrie. His cap from the 441 Huronia Wing RCAF Association, which meets monthly at the Barrie Royal Canadian Legion, features a Latin motto which would be familiar to Canadian airmen of the day: ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra,' meaning ‘through adversity to the stars’.
MacDonald was part of a vital group of soldiers who kept war planes flying during the Second World War, ensuring Canadian airmen — and their aircraft — were safe.
“Whenever we got the reports in for aircraft that hadn’t made it back to base, then it was our job to go and investigate them, see what damage was done,” he says. “It could have been only a blown tire, a blown engine or if flak damage was extensive, then we would have to scrap it. So yeah, it was like a scrap yard.”
While MacDonald and his workmate pals were keeping airmen in the air in their flying machines, there were always thoughts of home. His father died while MacDonald was overseas.
“That hit me worse than any of the other stuff,” he says of life during the Second World War and the loss of his father back home.
“The assignment I had, through 1944, was to be the lead on all the aircraft from the Canadian groups which crashed or couldn’t return to home base. I got so sick and tired of investigating wrecks and there were always casualties aboard. That was the worst," MacDonald says.
“My pal, Dave Kenwell, got shot down and spent as much time in a (German) POW camp as I did wandering around England," he adds.
Bill Sergeant, chairman of the 441 Huronia Wing RCAF Association, says MacDonald is a “role model to all of our wing members."
“His positive attitude and warm smile are an endearing trait and makes people gravitate to him,” Sergeant says. “Mac’s longevity and dedication to the organizations that he is a part of is a trait that all members of the Canadian Armed Forces should emulate.
“As a young man during the Second World War, Mac put service above self and did all he could to recover or salvage aircraft as quickly and efficiently as possible," Sergeant adds. "This way the aircraft could be returned to flying condition in short order so that they would be ready to carry out valuable missions against Nazi Germany.”
Upon reflection, after the war against Germany wound down, MacDonald, like thousands of other Canadian soldiers, has thoughts about his time and contributions and perhaps how the war had changed the world in different ways.
“There was peace and (eventual) prosperity, but the intervention of medical (ingenuity) and the like went right on through all aspects of life,” he says. “Practically everything turned from that point in time: technology and the science fields, the aircraft industry, the automotive industry, a whole stretch of what we know today.
