SASKATOONEXPRESS - November 5-11, 2018 - Page 1
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
Volume 17, Issue 44, Week of November 5, 2018
Reg Harrison One of Canada’s many war heroes
Cam Hutchinson Saskatoon Express eg Harrison was given the nickname Crash during the Second World War. Survivor might have been better. The young Saskatchewan pilot crashed four times in 19 flights. The first was as an observer before he was handed the controls of a bomber. All was going well until the plane landed back at its base in England. Harrison had stood near the pilot to see the target and stayed to watch the landing. Unbeknownst to the crew, one bomb hadn’t dropped. It was a 500-pounder and could pack a mighty wallop. When the plane reached the end of the runway and made a turn, the bomb exploded, killing the two gunners, both from Saskatchewan, instantly. When Harrison opened his eyes he was lying on the runway. He could see stars. From his location in the plane, he knew he had started 24 feet in the air and wasn’t sure if he dropped through the bottom of the plane onto the landing strip or if he had become airborne. He could feel the heat of the engines and smell fuel. Except for an arm injury he was unscathed. He did see death on the runway that day. Harrison was a farm boy in the Melville area when the war broke out. He’d look up and see planes from a training school flying overhead. He said the team of horses would quit working during the commotion. Harrison had already decided the air force was for him. “I heard my dad telling horror stories about the First World War, so I didn’t want to be in the army,” the now 97-year-old said from his Saskatoon condo last week. “And I didn’t like the water, so the only place to go was in the air.” He flew big airplanes carrying big
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Bomber pilot Reg Harrison was involved in four crashes during the Second World War. (Photo by Cam Hutchinson) bombs before he drove a car. Imagine that. After upgrading his education and taking pilot training, Harrison was sent to England in 1943 and was placed in Squadron 431. That’s the same number the Snowbirds have. Last month at a ceremony in Moose
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moment when he realized he was named after two uncles that died in the First World War. The scrape on Harrison’s arm in his first mission turned out to be a nasty burn that wasn’t healing. He laughed when he (Continued on page 10)
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Jaw, Harrison was named an honorary member of the Snowbirds. Perhaps the Snowbirds should have been made honorary members of Harrison’s crews. Harrison was excited about going to war. His father shook his hand and wished him well. Harrison said he had a startling
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