Peter Dmytruk

Peter Dmytruk (May 27, 1920 in Radisson, Saskatchewan – December 9, 1943 at Les Martres-de-Veyre, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne Province, Occupied France) was a Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Air Force who was killed fighting with the French Resistance during World War II.

Life

Peter Dmytruk was born in Radisson, Saskatchewan in 1920 to a Ukrainian immigrant family. At the outbreak of World War II, Peter Dmytruk was living in Wynyard, Saskatchewan when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in July 1941. Following his training, he was shipped overseas where he served as a Halifax tail gunner with 405 Squadron RCAF. During a mission over France, just east of Paris, Flight Sergeant Dmytruk's plane was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. He survived the crash and after hiding in the woods, he was protected by locals who put him in touch with members of the French Underground. Dmytruk was led south through German-occupied France towards the escape route through the Pyrenees into Spain. Along the way, he was deeply impacted by the plight of the French people under a brutal Nazi occupation and chose not to be smuggled out of the country. Instead, he joined the French Resistance where they soon dubbed him, "Pierre le Canadien."

Peter Dmytruk's duties for the Resistance brought him to the small village of Les Martres-de-Veyre, about 15 kilometers south of Clermont-Ferrand where he gained a reputation amongst his French counterparts as a fearless fighter, undeterred by the ever-present danger. Following the sabotage of a German troop and munitions train, the Germans sent troops into Les Martres-de-Veyre. Normally, the Germans took reprisal for such sabotage incidents by executing the men of the village. However, on December 9, 1943, Peter Dmytruk was arrested and because the Germans believed the notorious "Pierre le Canadien" was responsible for the train sabotage, he was executed on the spot. As a result, the German troops believed they had broken the backbone of the local Resistance movement and did not conduct the usual mass executions of any of the citizens of the village.

Aftermath

The people of Les Martres-de-Veyre buried the 23-year-old Peter Dmytruk with honours in the community cemetery. Because of the war, it would be more than a year before the Canadian government could confirm his death to his family. Following the liberation of France and the surrender of Germany, he was amongst those individuals almost forgotten by a Canadian nation anxious to put the horrific memories of the War behind them.

However, acclaimed as a hero whose selfless courage helped bring freedom to France and whose death saved the life of many residents of Les Martres-de-Veyre, a street was named after him. The government of France honoured Dmytruk with the Croix de Guerre and at the end of the War, beginning in 1946 and each year thereafter, the citizens of Les Martres-de-Veyre held a parade and memorial service at his monument. Almost thirty years after his death, in August 1972, the surprised mayor of Wynyard, Saskatchewan received a letter from a mayor of Les Martres-de-Veyre that showed Peter Dmytruk was not just a name on a war memorial, but was in fact a true hero of the War. The mayor of Les Martres-de-Veyre proposed to honour the dead Canadian soldier through the twinning of their two small towns and the creation of a new large memorial at his gravesite. On the thirtieth anniversary of his death, a 13-person delegation of family and officials from Saskatchewan joined the French commemoration ceremony.

In 1999, Peter Dmytruk was awarded the "Nation Builders Awards" that honours the contributions of outstanding Ukrainian Canadians from the province of Saskatchewan.