Unbelievable Canadian War Stories: Well Beyond the Call of Duty

Sidney Allinson is Canadian news correspondent for Britain’s The Army
Quarterly and Defence. He is the author of The Bantams: The Untold Story
of World War I, Jeremy Kane, and Kruger’s Gold: A Novel of the
Anglo-Boer War.

Pat MacAdam is an Ottawa journalist who served briefly in the militia.
Unbelievable Canadian War Stories recounts the exploits of 17 courageous
Canadian servicemen during World War II. Some of MacAdam’s subjects
are still famous names, such as Wing-Commander Johnnie Fauquier of RAF
dambusters fame, and Victoria Cross recipient Private Smokie Smith. The
other heroes he writes about are virtually unknown now, though well
worthy of being mentioned. They are typically modest veterans, but still
might take umbrage at having their stories doubted by being called
“unbelievable.”

However, the word is appropriate to describe MacAdam’s theory about
the flying accident death of RCAF fighter-ace Buzz Buerling in Rome. It
gets the full “conspiracy” treatment, with allegations of sabotage
and murder by mysterious foreign agents. Evidently not sure who in
particular to accuse of being responsible, he variously trots out the
Arabs, the Italians, and the British as Buerling’s assassins.

MacAdam takes a more realistic approach to the other heroes mentioned,
and tells some interesting details of their adventures on various war
fronts. But he still cannot resist portraying some as boozy brawlers or
undisciplined louts. In addition, readers may be misled by his military
malapropisms, like a submarine’s “tire” for tower, and
“Marquis” when he likely means Maquis, the French resistance. Worse,
he repeats the untrue myth that “all ranks, from field marshal down,
are required to salute the Victoria Cross,” which is nonsense. Too bad
Altitude Publishing does not employ a fact-checking editor to catch such
errors.