Emmett and his brother Donny served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. Donny’s plane was shot down; and he spent time as a POW in a camp in Germany.
[When my dad was a kid, he heard tales of cousin Donny having been forced to eat “black bread,” presumably pumpernickel or something like that, which my grandparents, in all innocence, took as the highest refinement of military torture.]
When the war was over, Emmett went from hospital to hospital in the UK, looking for his brother. He finally found Donny in a military hospital on the outskirts of London, and stayed with him until he was ready to travel (but from some of his war injuries, including a broken bone that did not heal properly, he never quite recovered).
When Donny was deemed fit to return home, the two brothers took the train up to Edinburgh for the weekend to celebrate, and then shipped out to Canada.
(As told to me by Emmett Patrick Sloan, Ottawa, January 2007).
I just by chance looked up Ottawa Valley Sloan Genealogy today and found this wonderful story about my uncles, Emmett and Donny. My mother is M.M. Thelma (Sloan) Chorney. This is a beautiful website and knowing how many years Emmett put into this passionate hobby, he would be impressed and no doubt grateful that there are others who share an interest in our ancestry. Sue Litchfield
Hi Sue, Thanks for your comment, I’m glad you found the site. Emmett wrote out his “Memories of the Morans” for me, which I’ve posted here:
http://www.ottawavalleyirish.com/2010/04/memories-of-the-morans.html