Over 700 war veterans gathered in Oakville for an annual luncheon in their honour. Most of them served in the second World War and one veteran was even in the same P.O.W. camp as the “Great Escape” prisoners.

Albert Wallace joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was 20 years old. He was an air gunner on a Halifax Bomber that flew 15 successful missions but got shot down on the 16th.

“We were over the target dropping our munitions and we got hit by ground flak. We lost two engines, the wing caught fire, it was bail out or die.”

So he and his crew jumped but were captured as soon as their feet hit the ground.

“Well I was in prison camp, I was in the camp where the Great Escape took place and the 50 officers were shot by the Germans.”

Wib Back joined the Navy as a 17 year old and was a torpedo man on HMCS border cities. He served two years and this luncheon is to show appreciation for what Back and other veterans did for this country.

The luncheon is in it’s 16th year and the veterans we spoke to say they look forward to it every year.