Losing men

The people who were lost, it happened, it would happen indiscriminately. You might have known a fella for two days and he didn't make it back, or you might have been buddies with him and went on leave a couple times and you know. So it's, there was no, no control over that, so there was no point in sort of expecting it to be the way you want it to be. You want to go on leave with this fellow next September and if he's there and you go and that's fine. But if not, you didn't dwell over the, over the fact that... it's not callous, it's just reality I think. Interviewer: It's a reality that in this generation younger kids haven't much experience with. It's, when people are lost and missing you don't dwell much on it. Not because it's, you don't care or because you're callous, but because it's the system that you're in. The same thing as, it might be your turn next, it might be. You don't, you don't, we didn't seem to have the... the long term expectations that something is gonna stay the same.

Mr. Miller explains how you couldn’t dwell over losing fellow soldiers and friends.

Douglas “Dusty” Miller

Mr. Douglas Miller was born near Blenheim, Ontario on March 12, 1919. There were four boys in the family all of whom served in the Second World War. He attended a technical school to learn aircraft technology prior to enlisting as he wanted to serve in the air force. After enlisting he trained in St. Thomas for about a year and was then posted overseas in Britain. He travelled by ship from Halifax to Britain and was posted to an airfield near Newcastle with a Canadian squadron of Bristol Beaufighters. The squadron was assigned to night fighting in an effort to ward off German bombers coming over to bomb Britain. Mr. Miller worked with the ground crew of this squadron and also served as an observer on flights from time to time. Before the end of the war he achieved the rank of flight sergeant.