Check It Out: Stories of Canadian super heroes who saved lives

By Joan Janzen

Did you know the Superman character made his official comic book debut in 1938, and was created by Canadian cartoonist Joe Shuster? While Superman became a famous fictional hero, there are plenty of real-life Canadian heroes who displayed both courage and compassion. In this first story, a WWII soldier chose to disobey orders so he could save the lives of eighteen children.

The organization Canadians at War reported the heroism of Canadian Sergeant James McKnight, who broke protocol in order to rescue 18 German children. It was February 1945, and McKnight and his four-man crew had been in position in northern Germany during bitterly cold weather, with orders to watch a road packed with German refugees.

Although they had been warned not to engage with civilians, they couldn’t ignore the sound of crying in the distance. They were ordered not to leave their position, yet they followed the cries, which led them to a bombed-out schoolhouse. There, they discovered eighteen children huddled together in a corner of the basement, trying to stay warm. Their parents had hidden them there before the bombing began, and the children had remained there for three days without heat, water, or food.

Quickly, the soldiers squeezed all the children into their truck box and grabbed the radio to report what they were doing. They were told they were not authorized to transport civilians, but McKnight said they were doing it anyway. It was a four-hour drive to the closest medical station, where the children were treated. The story of human kindness in the middle of war spread quickly, but the soldiers didn’t receive any recognition.

When the war ended, McKnight returned to Manitoba. Fifteen years later, he received a letter along with a photo of five adults. “We were the children you saved. We would like to meet you,” the letter said. Six months later, the crew was reunited with five of the people they had rescued years earlier. The Canadian soldiers had disobeyed orders, but had saved eighteen future generations.

Another act of Canadian heroism was portrayed in a Canadian-made documentary several years ago. It was the summer of 1944 when Lloyd Oliver was serving in the 5th Canadian Armoured Division in Italy, and came across a five-year-old Italian orphan boy hiding in some ruins. He had been lost and alone for months. His father had died, and his mother couldn’t be found.

According to Wartime Friends, the Canadian soldiers inquired at a nearby town and were told the boy didn’t have any family. So, the little boy named Gino moved into the mechanic platoon tent, was given a uniform, promoted to corporal, and became the company mascot. While experiencing intense fighting, the Canadians managed to care for the boy for nine months.

Oliver became his tutor, teaching him the English alphabet and the Bible, and how to read and write. The boy learned how to speak English and was soon riding his bicycle around camp as a dispatch rider.

In February 1945, the Canadians were leaving Italy, and Oliver was ordered to leave Gino at a displaced persons camp. By this time, Gino had become like a son to Oliver, so he took Gino to a nearby town and found someone to care for him. Soon afterwards, he was adopted.

After the war ended, Oliver tracked Gino down in Italy, and they kept in touch until Oliver’s death in 2012. Gino grew up to be a successful engineer in Italy, and years later was able to lay a wreath at the grave of one of the soldiers who cared for him.

A few years ago, CTV reported another heroic WWII story which occurred in Holland in 1944. A Canadian soldier saw movement in the ditch while driving his Jeep. When he stopped to have a look, he discovered it was a three-year-old girl, who he pulled out of the mud and delivered to a nearby open kitchen. Although he was forced to move on, he always wondered what happened to her.

When the veteran was 98 years old, he told his story to the Dutch media, hoping to find her. A Dutch woman read the story and knew the article was talking about her rescue, as she recalled the vivid childhood memory of sitting on the shoulders of a soldier. After talking to each other on the phone, they later arranged to have a joyful reunion in Ottawa.

One final heroic account was reported by the CBC about a miracle baby saved by Canadian soldiers. The Royal Canadian Artillery was stationed in England in September 1941 when three soldiers heard an unusual sound. The sound led them into a field, where they found a naked newborn baby. They promptly cut the cord and wrapped her in a clean shirt. The rescue of this unidentified baby made headlines in both Britain and Canada, and five months later, the baby was adopted into her new family and given the name Mary. Her birth mother eventually pleaded guilty of abandonment.

Seventy-seven years later, Mary’s nephew discovered a photo of three soldiers and a baby in the newspaper archives. Mary was able to get in touch with the son of one of her rescuers. He also had a copy of the photo and his father’s diary, in which he had written, “found a newborn baby.”

“I can tell you that Dad looked for you for numerous years,” the veteran’s son told Mary when they spoke to each other on FaceTime.

“I owe my life to them,” Mary replied.

These stories occurred more than eighty years ago, but they are relevant today, when children are victims throughout the world and acts of humanity are needed more than ever.