HALIFAX -- A veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force who flew as an air gunner in bomber missions on D-Day has been awarded the highest honour conferred by the French government.
Russell Hubley, 92, of Halifax received his French Legion of Honour from that country's consul general at a ceremony in the city Friday.
Bud Berntson, president of the 111 Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association, said Hubley flew on a Lancaster that was involved in bombing German artillery during the invasion and later in the Normandy campaign.
Hubley flew 60 missions in the Second World War when bomber command tours at the time stood at 30 missions over enemy territory, Berntson said.
"He was a very lucky man to come out of it without a scratch," said Berntson, who wrote the nomination that led to Hubley being accepted for the honour by the French government.
"You had to have a hell of a lot of courage or be kind of numb to, night after night, go back and face what they were going through."
The French government is providing the prestigious honour to a number of surviving Canadian veterans who were nominated for their role in the liberation of France as it marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Berntson said Hubley, who held the rank of flight officer during the war, began flying missions shortly before D-Day.
During the war, he said, bomber command suffered losses of about 40 per cent, which makes the number of missions Hubley flew even more remarkable.
"It was a very perilous life to live," he added. "Night after night, they would go back and get shot at by artillery and night fighters."
Shortly after midnight on D-Day, Berntson said Hubley was among those air crews that flew bombing missions to destroy German gun placements on the beaches of Normandy, where soldiers would land later that day.
Berntson said Hubley became an engineer after the war and served in the Halifax Rifles reserve unit, rising to become its commanding officer.
