RAF Johnny a Dam finehero
ON Wednesday an RAF bugler played the Last Post as 53 pairs of leather flying gloves were laid out before the Bomber Command Memorial in London.
Each pair represented a member of 617 Squadron who never made it home from the audacious Dambuster Raids 75 years ago.
One who did was Squadron Leader George “Johnny” Johnson 96, the sole surviving British Dambuster and holder of the Distinguished Flying Medal. Johnny got an MBE last year, though campaigners called for a knighthood saying his comrades’ sacrifices have never been adequately recognised.
Johnny, who I’m privileged to have met, agrees that they got “little or no respect” in the past and still feels a duty to represent his squadron.
He feels “bloody lucky” but says surviving, when so many on both sides didn’t, was “pretty shattering”.
A few years ago Johnny returned to the Sorpe dam he bombed.
He said: “I fully expected to get my nose punched but I was amazed by the friendliness of the German people.
“So I told them ‘It was a long time ago, we won’t forget it, but it’s up to us two countries now to make sure that sort of situation doesn’t arise again’.”
Those empty gloves may have been a poignant memorial to the Dambusters, but Johnny’s hand of friendship is a true symbol of their heroism.