The Last Dambuster Pilot
John Leslie Munro, the last surviving pilot and one of the final surviving members of the famous 617 Squadron from the legendary Dambusters raids against Nazi Germany, has died at the age of 96 in New Zealand.
“He was a wonderful character and, like so many brave war veterans, he was extremely modest about his courage and all his considerable achievements”, said Lord Ashcroft in a report by Steph Cockroft in The Daily Mail.
“He was one of those people who deserve to be described as the bravest of the brave”.
The New Zealander, known as Les, was one of 19 heroic pilots from the famous 617 Squadron who took part in the daring ‘bouncing bomb’ attacks on German dams in 1943, which have gone down in history as some of the finest wartime aerial assaults and have also been credited with changing the course of the Second World War.
“Everything he did was for the greater good of the people he flew with – and that’s pretty much what he did all his life,” said Peter Wheeler, chief executive of the New Zealand Bomber Command Association.
During the famous mission Flight Lieutenant Munro’s aircraft was hit by flak as it flew over Holland, a hole was smashed in the rear of the fuselage and vital equipment was damaged. It was then that Les Munro had to make the difficult decision whether to continue flying or to return.
“Realising that the crew could jeopardise the entire mission by carrying on, and following a vote taken by his air crew, Sqn Ldr Munro reluctantly returned home to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, expertly steering the plane back to safety.”
“The truly remarkable feat of breaching the dams demonstrated the astonishing bravery of Sqn Ldr Munro and his colleagues alongside the use of cutting-edge technology of the time. He will be sadly missed,” said Wing Commander Guy Gibson.
The squadron’s bravery earned it 33 decorations and led to the 1955 film The Dam Busters starring Sir Michael Redgrave.
Munro himself has received numerous awards for his “great courage and determination”, his “devotion to duty” and “his example of gallantry and leadership’.
He was made a Knight in France’s Légion d’honneur for bravery and commitment in the Second World War earlier this year and received the Queen’s Service Order for public services in 1991.
John Leslie Munro was a New Zealand war hero, who served as a bomber pilot during World War II as part of the famous 617 Squadron from the legendary Dambusters raids against Nazi Germany. Despite his achievements he was “extremely modest about his courage and all his considerable achievements.”
Article Source: Daily Mail, Steph Cockroft, August 04, 2015.
Image Source: Twitter – Metro UK
