All The Fine Young Eagles

Book cover courtesy Douglas & McIntyre

With Remembrance Day coming up, it is a good time to think about the sacrifices of veterans so that we may enjoy peace and prosperity here in Canada.

One way to reflect on this is to read a good book. This is what former fighter pilot turned author, David L. Bashow has given Canadians with his updated and expanded edition of his book, All The Fine Young Eagles.

Mr. Bashow takes us into the cockpits of several young Canadian fighter pilots who fought in the Second World War. Using wartime diaries and post-war reminiscences, All The Fine Young Eagles paints a vivid picture of what it was like to participate in the air campaigns in every theatre of the war.

One such account is provided by Canadian fighter pilot Ron Emberg, who flew three sorties over Dieppe in support of the disastrous landing in August 1942.

“What happened that day? I had gone over once at seven o’clock in the morning…gone down on my target, pulled up and by God, I looked up and the whole sky was full of ’109s and Spitfires. It was just a bloody circus. Then I went back a second time and all the guys that went out the first time also went out the second time. But on the third time, the only guy that had gone out the first two times as well was me.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Emberg was shot down on his third sortie. He did, however, manage to land his Hurricane on a golf course in Dieppe and make his way down the cliff to the sea where he was eventually picked up by an Allied ship. He left the RCAF at the end of the war. He died in Ottawa in 1991.

There are many stories like this in All The Fine Young Eagles. Canada played a significant role in the Second World War and it is books like this that contribute to our collective memory.

A 541 page book is not for everyone, but if you are a history or military buff, you will enjoy reading All The Fine Young Eagles.