Mike and Kathy Spack

DEDICATION

This Royal Canadian Air Force story is dedicated to my dear wife Kath known to me so affectionately as "Liz", a nickname given to her by much-loved Uncle Les who, when she was at a young age, gave her so many rides on his motor bike named "Dizzie Lizzie".

March 6, 1944 was the day I first saw Liz at the St. Mary's Church Parish Hall dance in Nantwich, Chestire, England and that story is in my writing "Long Ago and Far Away."  War has its many sadnesses but that particular day is easily the most important and happy one in my life.  My being in the Air, overseas, made this happen a long way from my home in Canada.

Our love has grown in many ways influenced greatly by her quiet strength and caring love in so many ways.  A devoted mother, she combined loving tender care with firm yet sensitive discipline for our children and continues to this day.  Her spirit shines as she devotes many hours to knitting not only for family and friends, but also for the needy.  Tending her beloved plants, caring for many dogs as well as all nearby animals and birds, are joyful experiences.

Love always,
Mike

 
The stories in the following Web pages are drawn from my wartime diaries, written while serving with the RCAF. The following excerpt will give the reader some idea of the joy I felt in flying during those years:

“Another entry mentions following each other (Reg and I), chasing cumulous billowy clouds which themselves reached high into the sky and there were gaps between them into which one would duck.  Flying in cloud, though unavoidable at times, was discouraged since seeing each other was important.  Sometimes the follower would move quite close just below the leading aircraft to avoid slipstream.  Thank goodness the aircraft in front did not have brakes.  And once I was chasing clouds during sunset time and it was somehow a spiritual feeling to see the beauty as far as the eyes could see; varied colours, some vividly displayed and others pastel shade.”

CLOUD FLYING…. From “My Friendship with Reg”.

So beautiful is the poem written by 19 year old American pilot, John Gillespie Magee Jr., who was shot down and died in England in 1941 soon after he wrote this poem, titled:

“High Flight”

“Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunset silence.  Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager aircraft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

ADVENTURE
W. Kynaston (Leading Air Woman)

Why must adventure stories be
Tales of the wild and restless sea?
For me the true adventure lies
Not in the sea but in the skies –
The wind outstripped, unfathomed space,
The changing moods of Heaven’s face,
The thrill of speed, the sense of pow’r –
A lifetime in a crowded hour.

Look up, look up and see me soar
Up thro’ the blue to Heaven’s door!
My spirit’s free, my heart is light:
I climb, I dive, I wheel in flight.
My God is here, I feel him nigh!
Was ever man who lived as I?
Go take your wild and restless brine:
Mysterious space, unsearched, is mine!

LAST VERSE – SO MOVING!

---

SECTION 2: 
Royal Canadian Air Force Memoirs

Mike Spack

THE STORY 100 pages of text	THE PICTURES 150 photographs
INTRODUCTION	Intro Gallery
PART I Recruitment and Training in Canada	Gallery 1
PART II Overseas Parts 1-3	Gallery 2
PART III Overseas Parts 4-5	Gallery 3
PART IV Overseas Parts 6-7	Gallery 4
PART V Overseas 8 and Post War	Gallery 5
My Friend Bill	Gallery 6
	Gallery 7

SECTION 3: KATH'S STORY
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY
Kath and Mike's Overseas Story

Long Ago and Far Away	Appendices
Wedding Photo Album	Kath's Family Photo Album

Contact Daughter Cathy at:
cspack@mymts.net