Veteran Profile

RCAF, GUNNER

Manuel was born in 1925 and joined the RCAF in 1943, as an airframe mechanic. He trained as a gunner on Fairey Battle and Wellington aircraft, and was posted to an aircrew on a Handley Page Halifax bomber, serving as a midupper gunner. The crew flew bombing missions over Germany and Nazi-occupied cities, where they met constant resistance from enemy fighters and flak. Manuel also took part in the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.

“Every trip we went on, they’d be shooting at us. When you looked up ahead, there’d be so many puffs of smoke, you’d think, ‘How am I going to get through that?’ ”

Manuel was discharged in

1945, having completed his full tour, flying 36 missions in all. He passed away as a retired farmer living in Calmar, Alta., on November 25, 2017. To view video interviews with Canadian war vets, visit https://vetvoicecan.org.