Isaac Newton High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Newton A N 49 ing and parachute and saluted before he jumped. French people saw his flaming de¬ scent. They found him later, but he was so severely burned that he died from his injuries. The rear gunner miraculously escaped death when the bomber crashed, but he states that had P.O. Mynarski not attempted to save his life, he surely would have escaped death himself. MAJOR ALEX KELLER Major Alexander Keller graduated from Newton in 1931. He worked in the mines diamond-drilling, and then was with the railway. On September, 15, 1939, Alex enlisted in the Cameron Highlanders as a buck private. He went overseas in 1940. He was at Dieppe in 1942, and because of his action he was awarded the Military Medal. He came home on leave in ’43. Then he went in for Officer’s Training at Brockville, Ontario. He instructed officers for six months. He received a commission and went overseas for the second time. This time he was with the Calgary Highlanders. He received the Military Cross in November, 1944. September 6, 1945, he was discharged, with the rank of major. Alex now represents the Dept, of Veterans’ Affairs. He has been at this since 1945. We’re proud of you, Alex. Here’s luck and further success to you. LIEUTENANT WALTER YANKEWICZ Lieutenant Walter Yankewicz, gradu¬ ate of Isaac Newton, has led a very interesting and exciting life since his school days. He has attended Univer¬ sity at Heidelberg in Germany and at London. He has passed his entrance examinations for the University of Cal¬ ifornia and is to leave shortly, but he intends to go North and gain some ex¬ perience at Diesel engineering first. He aims to be a Mechanical Engineer. When he completes his course at the University he will depart for South America. When Walter left school he enlisted in the American Navy. The slogan “Join the Navy and See the World” certainly applied to Lieutenant Yanke¬ wicz. He has been in Germany, the British Isles, South America, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Gibralter. He has seen ac¬ tion in Burma, Sicily and in the Pa¬ cific. He was in India at the time of the starvation. He was blown out of his fox-hole, against a tree, when a shell exploded fifteen feet away. He was wounded in the shoulder and twice in the leg. He was also listed as missing for four months while he was cut off in a valley in Burma. Once he was torpedoed off the coest of Newfound¬ land. He has received the U.A.A. Torpedo Bar and the South West Pacific Orange Star. Isaac Newton is proud of this young man, who has distinguished himself in lands afar. We wish him luck and fu¬ ture success. FLYING OFFICER KARL DZINKOWSKI Flying Officer Karl Dzinkowski at¬ tended Newton in 1937-1938. In 1941 he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. One day, while they were testing a Ventura bomber, they developed engine trouble. They were unable to hold altitude and crashed. The aircraft caught fire. One of the crew members had broken his leg in the spill and Karl rescued him from the burning wreckage. The air¬ craft was totally destroyed but the four crew members escaped unharmed except for severe burns. They were in the hospital for some time. Then, in June, 1942, Karl was awarded the Brit¬ ish Empire Medal. Karl was with the service for five years. He was in the Transport Command and ferried ships all over the world but particularly be¬ tween England and Africa. He received his discharge in 1945. At present he is attending the Uni¬ versity of Manitoba. He is taking Third Year Arts. He intends to register for medicine this year. Isaac Newton looks with pride upon this young man, and we wish him luck and success in his future ent erprises.

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48 Isaac Newton High School seriousness of the job we had under¬ taken. The losses were heavy and many Newton boys lost their lives on the bloody battle-field. Dieppe was only the first scene of a tragic drama unfolding before the eyes of the world. Our boys saw battle in every theatre of the war — Belgium, Holland, Italy, North Africa, Germany and the East. And in every battle new lives were lost and new families mourn¬ ed their dead. Many of the boys who were in the fighting lines, did not, even in the heat of the struggle, know why they were out there fighting, and many of them wondered if the world would be any better for all the sacrifices its youths were making. They were still young and reluctant to give up all that life offered them without being assured that their sacrifices would not be in vain. The following excerpt is quoted from a letter deposited with the Air Force to be mailed home only on condition that the writer should not return from an operational flight. It gives us an inkl¬ ing of some of the thoughts that run through the mind of a boy on active service. His ideas are very strikingly stated: “I have chosen my path and I must follow it. I am proud to have been given my chance to strike a blow for freedom. I am not fighting for England or Canada. I fight for the right to the freedom for which we are all born. No one must take that heritage from us. “In days to come the airmen of Can¬ ada will be remembered by the free men of all nations. You must not tar¬ nish that tradition by being sad because I died living up to it ... I have shot my bolt; I have paid my debt to humanity. O God! I hope I have not died in vain.” Among the writer’s personal papers was an article which included the fol¬ lowing sentences, evidently written to clarify his own thoughts regarding the war. “Gradually the full meaning of this greatest of wars has filtered through my mind. I am no superman. I am endowed with average intelligence and physique. You may see me on the farms, in the small towns, in humming factories, on city streets, in the dimness of poolrooms and the brightness of dance halls. In short, I am the youth of Canada” . . . “Ours is an arduous task. It will not be easy. We will have to endure suffering and hardships; but we will, we must triumph.” . . . “Freedom or cringing slavery, we must choose it now.” DISTINGUISHED WAR HEROES The fortitude shown by Canadian boys in the battles of World War II will never be forgotten. Their valorous deeds of heroism were recognized by all nations. Many of our own Newton lads were given honourable mention in news despatches and many others earned medals, ribbons and bars for their services. Though we do not know of all the boys who have performed heroic feats, certain of them have been brought to our respectful attention. PILOT OFFICER ANDREW CHARLES MYNARSKI, V.C. Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynar- ski was posthumously awarded the Empire’s highest medal for valor — the Victoria Cross — the second award of its kind in the history of the R.C.A.F. Andrew had been mid-upper gunner on a Lancastrian bomber. He lost his life from burns received while attempting to rescue his comrade. June 12, one week after D-Day, the Lancaster was flying over France when an enemy fighter attack caused the en¬ gines to burst into flame. Andrew was spattered with hydraulic acid but when he saw his comrade trapped in the blaz¬ ing rear turret, he scrambled through the blaze and frantically tugged at the immovable turret. The Captain ordered the crew to abandon ship, but until P.O. Brophy warned Andrew away, he continued to struggle with the mecha¬ nism. He reluctantly went towards the escape-hatch, and as a last tribute to his seemingly-doomed comrade, he stood to attention in his flaming cloth-

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Isaac Newton High School 50 PO. ANDREW MYNARSKI, V.C. A most conspicuous act of heroism which called for valor of the highest order.