John A Neal 419 Sqn – Calgary

A few years ago I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of John Neal from Calgary. John had been a navigator on a 419 Sqn Halifax Mkll HX189 that was shot down by a night fighter and crashed at Couvron-et- Aumencourt (Aisne), 12 km NNW of Laon, France on 22 April 1944.

The crew were :-

F/O C.A.Thomas USAAF Evd
Sgt J.L.Thompson PoW
F/S P.R.Lindsay RCAF Evd
P/O J.A.Neal RCAF Evd
WO1 P.J.Murphy RCAF PoW
Sgt W.A.Greene Evd
Sgt V.A.Knox RCAF KIA is buried in the Communal Cemetery at Couvron-et-Aumencourt.

John and another evader were picked up by the US Army as it advanced across France after D-Day and spent a few days as POWs of the Americans, until such time that their identities could be confirmed. Because of this “oddity” John was at one time the President of the Calgary POW Association.

I have lost touch with John, and have not heard from him for a while, I was wondering if anyone knew if he was still with us ?