Squadron

 We begin today with a series of badges and pins, belonging to veterans as a way of marking their service in the Second World War.

One of those who had survived the war, though he was assumed dead, was Samuel Taylor with the RCAF. His plane was shot down, and he evaded capture. With the assistance of the French Resistance, he made contact with other downed pilots and aircrew members. They hid in forests, caves, and country homes. Among the souvenirs Taylor kept was a map of France, a scrap from a parachute, and a bracelet a Resistance member had given him for his fiancee back home.

He would make a scrapbook of his memories of the Escadrille Soixante-Neuf, or Squadron 69, as the group of fallen airmen would call themselves while evading capture. They would survive the war.

Imagine getting this telegram, after believing him dead. 

This includes a photograph from the wedding day.

Veterans in the years that would follow would mark occasions at cenotaphs across the country. And now there are few left, and fewer by the year, of that war.

Madeline Fraser was a nurse with the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital. The unit followed the Canadian military from 1940-1945. They had a plate designed by an artist, and multiple copies made, to remember their service.