World War II: An Airman Remembers

Like most young men his age, John Patterson answered the call to fight the Nazis during the second World War. While patriotism certainly influenced his decision, there wasn't much keeping him at home. His family had fled the dust bowl of Saskatchewan during the Depression, yet their prospects had not improved much on their rented farm near Bobcaygeon, Ontario. At nineteen years of age, he, as was done by many other young men, joined the RCAF, hoping to become a member of aircrew. After two years of training and following his posting to England, he was attached to Bomber Command in which he served in the RAF as a navigator on Lancasters and as a pathfinder on Mosquitoes with 61 and 109 squadrons, bombing and marking targets in Germany, Italy and France. He recorded the bittersweet joy of peace.
In World War II--An Airman Remembers, his life.