In the fall of 1963, I was appointed Range Officer for 3ESBn in Gagetown, and Andy was my Assistant Range Officer. We had to get all the Service Bn officers qualified, and we had a lot of officers...


On the first day we got most officers done, and those that failed (less than 14 rounds out of 20 on the target) had to shoot again the next day. That day all but a RCEME Capt, Don Wilson, sucessfully qualified. We had Don fire again, and he got worse. Andy then suggested that we fire with him to ease the pressure.And we did. But Andy and I had the same idea- we both shot evey second shot at Don's target . When Andy retrieved Don's target, he quickly counted 22 hits !


Undismayed, he subtly pulled another target from his tunic with 16 holes in it , and Don was qualified!  I'm not sure, but I don't think this story ever came out. 

Andy and I had innumerable stories to tell about our times together, but the one that we always shared together whenever possible, was the story of Mass in Centralia Ontario when we were there together on Pilot Training.

On a Saturday night in the Mess, the Catholic Padre mentioned that he had never seen either one of us in Church and as a Senior Officer he ordered us to a Mass he was celebrating for himself. Andy was to assist the Priest during the Mass and I was to attend.

Andy being a bit rusty at the proceedings drew some criticism from the Padre, but then he mentioned to Andy that although he was not very current at the proceedings, he was extremely disappointed in my performance since I seemed to know nothing about what I was doing.

At that time Andy mentioned that it was probably due to the fact that I was a Protestant. That seemed to end the necessity for me to attend Mass. It also drew endless apologies from the Padre.

I look forward to Mass on 31 May 2013 when we will be celebrating Andy’s life. I will definitely have a special smile on my face at that time. The memories are so sweet and usually quite enlightening, as well as humorous on many occasions.

Pat and Judy, Andy and I have known each other for so many years (over 50) it will be fun to hear them share the stories as well. Those that know Andy will know that as he listens, he will be wishing he could share the time with us.

We will Remember.