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He became a POW and the Luftwaffe treated him with OPERATION VETERAN
special respect, allowing a special air drop of another
artificial leg for him at the prison. After many escape
attempts and helping others to escape, Sir Douglas was
transferred to the heightened prisoner of war camp at
Colditz Castle, where he remained until that camp was
liberated in 1945. “He had quite a spirit of heroism and
raw, bloody guts,” said Don.
On this day in Abbotsford, after seeing Sir Douglas
beside him, Don went over to meet the great man. “I Operation Veteran was founded in 2009 by Dr. Paul Kavanagh,
was apprehensive and said, ‘Excuse me, are you Sir
in association with the Canadian War Museum, to honour and
Douglas?’ He had this very polished English accent and raise awareness of veterans and their sacrifices.
replied, ‘Oh, yes…And you are?’
Thanks to contributions from generous private donors and
“I introduced myself. We got talking and I had a
many schools across Canada, each veteran visiting the
business card at the time. It had my name on it –
Museum can receive a coupon valued at $11, which can be
‘Donald J. Macpherson, MA’ – and then a parody of the exchanged for refreshments or a meal in the Café, the
RCAF and RAF motto Per Ardua Ad Astra (through
Museum’s cafeteria. Since the creation of Operation Veteran,
adversity to the stars). On my card I had printed in fancy more than 15,000 complimentary meals have been provided
scroll, ‘per excreta et abuso ad astra’,” Don smiled.
to veterans at the Museum.
Educating young people about Canada’s debt to veterans
through better understanding of our history is a critical
element of Operation Veteran. To that end, your donation will
also support the Museum’s Supply Line program. Through
Supply Line, teachers across Canada can arrange to borrow a
First World War Discovery Box. Each box contains authentic
and reproduction items such as barbed wire and steel
helmets, as well as lesson plans and background documents
for teachers. The boxes are intended to promote active
classroom learning and discussion, and give students in Grades
Sir Douglas recognized the parody and started to laugh.
4 to 12 a tangible way to imagine what life was like for
“So I said, ‘I think you probably studied Latin at one Canadians during the First World War.
time, Sir.’
By supporting Operation Veteran, you help us honour
“He said, ‘Oh yes, old chap.’ veterans, raise awareness of their sacrifices and preserve
Canada’s military history.
“My motto was my adaptation – ‘Through shit and abuse
to the stars.’ Same destination, different route.” SUPPORT THE OPERATION VETERAN PROGRAM TODAY.
Sir Douglas thought Don’s version was clever and he If you wish to make a donation online, you can do so using
asked Don if he could keep the card. Don replied that he your credit card:
would be honoured and gave Sir Douglas two of his
business cards. Sir Douglas responded with, “That’s
great because now I can show people and talk about DONATE NOW
you.”
Don was flattered that this hero of the Second World
War had accepted and enjoyed the joke. “I have that Or you can print and complete this donation form (PDF) and
card with his autograph mounted on my wall with other return it to us by mail or fax.
Air Force items,” Don said proudly. To learn more about Operation Veteran, its story and its
impact, please click here. Thank you.
