Regiment: 426 Squadron
Regimental No: J/21046
Force: RCAF
Jim Dodge, born in 1923, was the only child of Freeman James and Edith Catherine (McKinnon) Dodge who owned the Dodge-Harper Hardware store in Spirit River AB. They lived on a farm near the town, and Jim attended school in Spirit River. According to an article in the GP Herald, Jim was a “fine upstanding son.” After graduating in 1941, Jim joined the air force and served in active duty in England. On January 28, 1944 he was “missing in action”, and in March 1944 he was “presumed dead”. Sadly, his body was never found. In his last letter to his parents Jim wrote, “Berlin’s no picnic.” Jim’s parents sold their business in 1944, and moved to Victoria BC where his father died in 1970. His mother then moved to Red Deer AB, and she died in 1978. Jim’s name is commemorated among 20,450 other Canadian air force veterans who have no known grave, on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, UK.
Source: Chepi Sepe pp. 365 – 366 (Family story and photo); p. 184 (photo)
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
SPRA – Family and Personal Life Reference Files – Obituaries of Freeman and Edith, GP Herald Old Timer’s Historical Edition 1934