Reflecting on the Spitfire
Heroes Remember
Reflecting on the Spitfire
Transcript
Description
Mr. Sager takes a moment to remember and describe the Spitfire, and he compares it to the German counterpart. He then describes the skill of deflection shooting (a necessary skill of a good fighter pilot).
Arthur Hazelton Sager
Mr. Sager was born in Hazelton, BC, where his father was working as a medical missionary. He was the eldest boy in his family, growing up with two brothers and four sisters. He and his family were pacifists (against war). Mr Sager quit school at age seventeen and went to work in a gold mine. At the outbreak of war Mr. Sager was living in London, England, working as a professional actor, as well as a reporter and had the opportunity to interview Jews and other people that had fled mainland Europe. The stories he heard from these people led to the changing of his pacifist attitudes. Mr. Sager also had two brothers who served, one in the Royal Canadian Navy and the other in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Mr. Sager joined the RCAF and flew many combat missions over Europe. He had a very successful career earning the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) with bars, and his flying record at the end of the war stood at six destroyed, two probable and five damaged. By the end of the war, Mr. Sager was made a commanding office After the war Mr. Sager also had a distinguished career as a private citizen. Among his many jobs, he spent twenty years working for the United Nations as Project Manager for developing countries, as well as a member of the Executive of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 03:15
- Person Interviewed:
- Arthur Hazelton Sager
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Branch:
- Air Force
- Units/Ship:
- 416, 421, 443 Squadron
- Rank:
- Flight Commander
- Occupation:
- Pilot
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