MACFIE, JOHN ALVIN 1943-1946 R.C.A.F., Bombardier, Canada 1946-1948, R.C.A.F. Meteorological Observer, Canada
John ‘Jack’ Alvin Macfie was born in 1925, son of Donald ‘Roy’ and Edith (Mitchell) Macfie of Sunny Slope.
John joined the RCAF and was well on his way to becoming a figher pilot. As he recounted in a letter to his brother Don and reproduced in Don’s book “The Parry Sound Woodcutters War”:
“I’d proved I could carve up the sky with loops and rolls and spins, so bring on the Spitfires. “ “I don’t even need an airplane, I can walk on air.”
John’s dreams of a pilot were not to be. As he recounted in a letter to his mother (recorded by Don): “When I was out on my second solo (I) dropped a wing when I touched down, and I overcontrolled, or just didn’t know what to do. I busted the other wing up a bit and was in for an upside down finish, so I jammed on the throttle to take off again. I did it at the wrong time, while I was up on my tail & wing, and dragged it off the runway before it lifted off… and stalled 50 or 100 ft. up. It should have spun in, but somehow I got it righted … the irony of it, I made a sweet landing when I came in again.
As Don recalled, it devastated John’s dream. Following a further test flight with the Flying instructor, he was posted to Fingal, Ontario to undergo bombardier (bomb aimer) trainng. Much to John’s dismay the airforce decided to place surplus aircrew in reserve, and in December 1944 the entire graduating class of bomb aimers was placed on reserve.
On April 12, 1945, John was recalled to active duty. He was to report to Paulson, Manitoba to take a refresher course in navigation preparatory to joining Bomber Commands contributions to “Tiger Force in the Pacific theatre of war. (“Tiger Force” was part of the Commonwealth’s contribution to the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands.) But the war in the Pacific was declared over before John could see action.
After the war, John re-enlisted as a meteorological technician returning home in 1948.