‘It was my duty to go’: Canada’s oldest living veteran on why he served his country

Canada’s oldest veteran was honoured Wednesday, one day before Remembrance Day, during a ceremony at a Vancouver school.

Reuben Sinclair is just shy of turning 110 years old.

While Veterans Affairs Canada won’t identify the country’s oldest veterans for privacy reasons, Sinclair is believed to be the oldest living veteran in Canada.

He was 31 years old when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, during the Second World War.

He served as a wireless mechanic operator deployed in Canada and trained pilots on how to take off and land on blacked-out runways using his technology.

“We had three transmitters,” he said. “One of the transmitters was on the plane and when they began their descent they starting beeping – beep, beep, beep. It meant they were 500 feet from the runway.

“That’s how they learned how to land in the dark. Because down there, Hitler would have bombed them out.”

Sinclair said he had two to three other people working with him during the war and although he can’t remember their names now, he called them “a good assortment” of people.

2:14 Ceremonies held to honour Indigenous military veterans in B.C.

Sinclair, who was born in 1911 near Lipton Saskatchewan, still lives on his own, with caregivers, in Richmond.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

He now has three children, six grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and two soon to be great-great-grandchildren.

According to a profile in Jewish Independent, after the war, Sinclair started the Sinclair Bros. Garage and Auto Wrecking in Richmond with his youngest brother Joe.

They ended up bringing many of their family members to British Columbia.

In 1964 he moved with his wife and three children to Los Angeles when his doctor said he needed a drier climate.

Eventually, they moved back to B.C. and his wife died of a stroke in 1996.

The couple were known for their giving natures, raising money for charities in Los Angeles and B.C.

When asked about why he signed up in 1942, Sinclair said simply, “I didn’t have to (go to war) but I felt it was my duty.”

“I felt it was my duty to go.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I felt it was my duty to go."

2:09 Victoria woman makes 100 crochet poppies for centennial anniversary of symbol

Sinclair was honoured Wednesday at a special ceremony at Talmud Torah Elementary in Vancouver.

He does have some advice for anyone who wants to live as long as he has.

“Never worry,” he said. “If you’ve got a problem, fix it. Then you don’t go bald.

“You live to 110 and still working good.”