At almost 111 years old, Reuben Sinclair is considered to be Canada’s oldest veteran.
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 born on a farm in Lipton, Saskatchewan, and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942, when he was 31 years old.
He served as a wireless mechanic operator deployed in Canada during the Second World War.
He trained pilots on how to take off and land on blacked-out runways using his technology.
“We had three transmitters,” he told Global News last year. “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.”
Speaking to Global News on Remembrance Day this year, when asked what it means to take part in the ceremony, Sinclair said it is an “honour.”
He said he wanted to serve because it was his choice.
“I don’t consider it as special,” he said. “I’m honoured.”
Sinclair has three children, 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
“I just think it’s important to know what these veterans did for all of us and we have to carry it on, carry on the legacy and to meet someone like my father is really special,” Sinclair’s daughter, Nadine Lipetz, said.
“I’ve very proud of him.”
Lipetz said it’s important to remember the sacrifices the men and women made on behalf of their families, their country and for the future.
“I think it’s so important to carry on the legacy because there’s not a lot of World War II veterans left,” she added.
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