Moose Jaw’s veterans’ community is mourning after it was learned that Allen (Al) Cameron, the last local Second World War veteran, had died from complications due to a fall.
Cameron was 98 years old.
Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 and Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS) Club No. 252 — and Saskatoon’s ANAVETS club — lowered their flags to half-mast to honour the veteran, who served as an airplane mechanic in Italy during the war.
The presidents from both organizations declined to comment on Cameron’s death, saying they were waiting until the veteran’s son arrived from Ontario to organize a funeral or a memorial service. That event is expected to occur next week.
The Moose Jaw Express spoke to Cameron several times during the past few years about his experiences during the war and his thoughts about warfare in general.
During an interview in November 2022, when told he was likely the last Second World War veteran living in Moose Jaw — and one of about 100 in Saskatchewan — Cameron chuckled and joked that he wasn’t enthusiastic about being last in anything.
“I am blessed (by) the good Lord to bring me here and look after me,” he said, noting his longevity is because he maintains healthy practices by exercising and refraining from smoking or drinking.
“I guess I’m just so happy living that I want to keep it up,” he smiled. “My goal is 100; that’s (about three) years from now.”
Don Purington, president of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS) club in Moose Jaw, told the Express in that same article that he was amazed there were still about 100 World War II vets living in Saskatchewan. He thought it was great to have those people around, especially during Remembrance Day ceremonies.
He noted that young people — especially air base trainees and Dragoons reservists — flocked to Cameron whenever he visited and told stories of his time in the RCAF.
The veteran enjoyed singing and would have sung O Canada during a WHL Warriors’ game but took ill. Still, he did anything for the ANAVETS club and helped whenever possible.
“He’s a gem,” said Purington.
People likely wouldn’t want to engage in war if they had been alive to experience the Second World War, Cameron told the Express, pointing out there were other wars before and after that that didn’t prove anything.
As an aircraft mechanic in Italy, Cameron’s responsibility was to keep the bombers flying. What stuck with him from that time was watching 30 bombers leave and only 10 come back. Eight men per plane meant 160 young airmen died per mission.
“That takes some getting used to,” he said.
Cameron made a list of all the friends he wanted to maintain after the conflict ended. He started with 37 people, and over the past eight decades, that number decreased to one — a widow of the last surviving list member. He reiterated his belief that God was watching over him.
“You see things you don’t like or want any part of, and you have to take every precaution you can to survive. War is a game of survival,” Cameron said, noting, in comparison, his 22-year-old brother was shot down and killed on June 30, 1944.
The veteran thought it was becoming increasingly difficult to explain to people what war is in terms they understand. But he does his best to be a messenger and tell people that war solves nothing.
“War is hell,” Cameron added. “And you can’t explain it any more clearly than that.”
