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Gage, Donald Irwin

Date of birth:
January 20th, 1920 (Bow Island/Alberta, Canada)
Date of death:
May 12th, 1944 (Aardenburg, the Netherlands)
Buried on:
Commonwealth War Graves Aardenburg
Grave: 1-7.
Service number:
J-19996
Nationality:
Canadian (1931-present, Constitutional Monarchy)

Biography

Service number J-19996.

Donald Irwin Gage was born on January 20, 1920 in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada and moved with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada when he was 13 years old. He was living in Vancouver when he joined the services. His wife, young daughter, and his parents were all living in the Vancouver area when the plane went down near Aardenburg.
Pilot Officer Donald Irwin Gage was one of seven crewmen aboard Lancaster ND919. He served as the air bomber. On the night of May 11, 1944, Lancaster ND919, along with 126 other Lancasters and six Mosquitos, flew out on a mission to bomb the railway network around Leuven in Belgium. The aircraft was shot down early on May 12, 1944 and crashed near Aardenburg which is a small town in the Netherlands not far from the Belgian border. Gage and the other six crew members of Lancaster ND919 were buried together in the Aardenburg Cemetery where their graves are still beautifully maintained to this day.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
June 29th, 1945

Presented to Blanche Lorraine Gage, the wife of Donald Irwin Gage.
Memorial Cross
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946
1939-1945 Star
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946
Air Crew Europe Star
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946
Defence Medal 1939-1945
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946
General Service Medal 1918-1962
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946

Awarded with overseas bar.
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (1939-1947)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
December 11th, 1946
RCAF Operational Wings

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