Description
Ms. Lavallee speaks about the recognition received by a gentleman in England when wearing the maple leaf badge on her uniform
Olga Lavallee
Ms. Lavallee was born in 1921 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. From her childhood, she was fascinated with airplanes. At age 21, much to her parents chagrin, Ms. Lavallee joined the Air Force. After training, Ms. Lavallee accepted the opportunity to go overseas and travelled to England onboard the Mauritania. She lived and worked in London in the administration field. During her social time, Ms. Lavallee cared for the many burn victims of East Grinstead hospital in England providing comfort and consolement to the wounded soldiers. After discharge, she returned to Vancouver. Ms. Lavallee holds great pride for her service to Canada and is an active member of the association for Women Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Transcript
My proudest moment really was when an English gentleman in London saw my Canada badges and he said, “Hello Canada.” Because where I came from in Vancouver it was always double-barrelled, you were not a true Canadian unless you were born a native person. That’s the way it was but when he said, “Hello Canada,” I said, “I’m a Canadian!”