Laid to rest

BY CARLA ALLEN

The Coast Guard

NovaNewsNow.com

Sixty-three years after Halifax Bomber JP276A crashed in Poland while on a secret mission, the bodies of the remaining members of its close-knit crew have finally been identified and buried in a rededication ceremony in Krakow, Poland.

Wayne Blynn of Woods Harbour is the nephew of the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Arnold Raymond Blynn. He donated DNA in order to help identify his uncle’s remains, which were discovered in the Second World War plane’s wreckage this summer.

“They were able to identify at least two other bodies positively from other family’s DNA,” said Blynn.

“They identified two of them from serial numbers on the revolvers they found in the crash, so they had double identification.”

On August 4, 1944, Lt. Blynn and his crew of four other Canadian crewmembers and two Royal Air Force officers took off from Brindisi, Italy.

The five Canadians had stuck together as a team for an exceptionally long time, considering what they were tasked to do, said Blynn.

The plane was part of the Royal Air Force squadron that delivered weapons, spies, and ammunition to members of the Polish Home Army fighting enemy occupiers in the Warsaw Uprising. The weapons were wrapped in wool sweaters and packed in steel pods. The planes flew as low as 400 to 500 feet to avoid radar.

“The life expectancy in the 148 squadron was one month. Most of them weren’t coming back,” said Blynn.

The bomber was shot down near Dabrowa Tarnowska, Poland. All seven members of the crew were killed but not all were recovered. The bodies were initially buried at a local cemetery near the crash site. The remains were transferred to Rakowicki Cemetery in Krakow, Poland, in 1948.

In 2006, an archeological dig uncovered the

plane's wreckage and the bodies of the remaining crewmembers, including Lt. Blynn.

Families of the Canadian crewmembers were invited (with expenses paid) by Veterans Affairs Canada to attend a rededicating ceremony in Krakow for the crewmembers, organized by the Canadian Department of National Defence in collaboration with the Royal Air Force.

In researching his uncle, Blynn connected with the former squad leader, now in his 90s. They discussed the danger of the missions that supplied the Polish underground.

“You knew your odds were slim to none,” asked Blynn. “How could you do it?”

“It was a job… we just did our job,” replied the veteran.