I was forwarded a copy of this piece a while ago. The item just seemed a little too neat and I started to check a few facts that were presented:
- The BEF in France did not total 400,000 men, but all of the Allies involved in the battle did. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dunkirk )
- The HMS Grenade itself was sunk during the evacuation at Dunkirk, and one of her sister ships was also sunk, the Grafton (they were among a total of 9 British and French destroyers sunk) (
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4396.html and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation)
- The Bismark was sank on 27 May 1941 (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Bismarck), which was long before the landings in Northern Africa on 8 Nov 1942 (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Torch)
- You have to wonder why the anonymous goverment official wouldn't have found a Canadian veteran for this photo op.
- If the veteran wrote a book on his experiences, it is very unusual that the original reporter didn't mention the book's title.
I don't want to sound critical, because the story brings forward all of the emotions we are supposed to feel at reading such a heart-warming tale. It would be nice to know who the veteran on the bill really is, and what his own story might be, or why some of the facts don't seem to check out.
Pro Patria
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