Good Luck Charm

Heroes Remember

Good Luck Charm

Transcript

Interviewer: I got the sense in that last sentence that perhaps you had some sort of a good luck superstition or ritual that you did if you, like, buy, I shouldn't say buy one, you'd want to buy one. Was there a ritual that you would perform? Tell me. There was with me .Interviewer: Ok, what was that? I embrace Catholicism. My mother gave me a crucifix and she said, "You keep that with you and you'll be safe." I kept that with me, and I remember, and I checked, that was the first thing I did when I got on the air craft, make sure I had that. That was my good luck charm. I don't know whether the other guys did, I'm sure they did. I didn't have it this day and I thought, "I've left that on my table." I told the, the captain, I said "I got to go. I got to go back, left some notes, left some books, got to go back to my, to the..." He was madder than a son of a bitch but I went, because I felt that, that's my good luck charm. That's going to get me home. And, and it did, well I don't know whether it did, or not, but upstairs, it sure as hell helped and I don't know whether others did because they didn't relate that, any of that to me.

Description

Mr. Fitzmaurice had a good luck charm with him during the war. He tells us what it was and how he felt it got him home safely.

Anthony Fitzmaurice

Mr. Fitzmaurice was born on a farm in Mount Carmel, Ontario. He grew up in London, Ontario, where he attended school. After graduating from college in 1943 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and received his training in Mitchells and then Liberators in Calgary, Alberta. After training he flew from Dorval, Quebec, to Algiers. Mr. Fitzmaurice flew in a Liberator with 357 squadron flying guerillas in to Burma, China and Thailand. He returned to Canada on the Aquitania in March of 1946.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:35
Person Interviewed:: Anthony Fitzmaurice
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Southeast Asia
Battle/Campaign:: Burma
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 357 Squadron
Occupation:: Wireless Navigator

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03