The happiest man in the Town of Picton and possibly the whole world this week is Bill Jones, one of our local druggists. You see he is happy because Moma and Popa Deschervois, as Bill affectionately calls them, and their daughter Micheline with husband Lucien Pradiqnac and three and one-half year old daughter Nathlie, arrived in Montreal via Air France last Saturday from Ste. Genevieve, France, which is situated 40 miles from Dieppe.

This story began in the skies over France on the morning of August 16th, 1944, when Flying Officer W.F. Jones and six other members of a Lancaster bomber crew   were on a mission to knock out a V-2 missile site at L’Isle Adam, France. They were over Ste. Genevieve when their aircraft was hit badly by anti-aircraft flak and the order to bale out was given. Bill and four of his pals managed to use their parachutes but two of the boys were wounded too badly to get out and went down with the plane. Bill landed in the Deschevais farm and immediately took cover in some stooks of grain.

The Deschevais family saw him touch down approximately a quarter of a mile from their home but could not come out immediately as the place was infested with Germans looking for the crew of the downed bomber. During the afternoon, however, two of the boys, George and Raymond made their way out into the field but were stopped by a German patrol only a short distance from Bill’s hiding place. When questioned, they lied and said that they had seen one of the crew heading in the other direction. The ruse worked. Eventually under cover of darkness they were able to guide Bill back to the house.

The next day there was a knock at the door and it turned out to be another member of the crew, an Arthur Kemp, who had sustained a serious back injury. They stayed at the farm house until the next Tuesday and during that time came to know and love them all including Micheline who was then only six years old. However, on the Tuesday a number of Germans came and demanded accommodation. Fortunately the two Allied airmen were able to hide in a small alcove of a downstairs bedroom. Actually for some hours German soldiers were sleeping in rooms above them. In the middle of the night of 20/21 August it became too risky to stay and Bill and Art escaped via the bedroom window. They moved only by night and some days later were picked up by a unit of 2 Canadian Armoured Division.

Since the end of the war Bill has made no less than five pilgrimages back to France to visit the Deschevois family and on one occasion recently he took his wife and three sons with him. Bill attended Micheline’s wedding and wife Marg is daughter Nathlie’s godmother.

We went over to Bill’s home on Tuesday evening to meet this illustrious family and they were everything we had expected. Moma at age 65 and Popa at age 69 looks surprisingly young although it is apparent from Moma’s quiet manner that the hard war years have left their mark. None of them speak or understand a word of English but Bill with a few basic words and some wild gestulating seemed to be getting his meanings across quite well although his accent was somewhat tainted by a Peel County twang.

At one point I whispered to Moma as I pointed to Bill “Beau Garcon”. The literal translation of her reply was “I think of him as if he were my own son and you may be sure I love him just as much”. Raymond, one of the sons who helped rescue Bill was killed during resistance operations and is buried in a small village close to their town of Ste. Genevieve.

Bill is doing other little things to show his appreciation to this lovely French family because as he says, “If it weren’t for them, I just wouldn’t be here”.

Each November we are admonished with the words “Lest We Forget”. Bill Jones has not forgotten and you may be absolutely sure that he won’t. Would that all Canadians of differing tongues could learn such mutual respect and love for one and other.