Wilfred Herbert Howie was born in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Co., Nova Scotia on July 23, 1925. Prior to enlistment he was employed as a Canadian National Telegraph messenger (1941-1943). He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force on May 5, 1943 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, at the age of 18, and trained in Canada obtaining his Air Gunner Badge on November 12, 1943. He went overseas arriving in the United Kingdom on December 21, 1943. He continued training in the United Kingdom and was assigned to 101 RAF Squadron on June 24, 1944. On the night of August 29, 1944, Pilot Officer Howie was an air gunner on Lancaster ME 592 that left RAF Station Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire, at 21.25 hours on an operational sortie to Stettin, a German industrial city during WWII. As they crossed the Swedish border the aircraft came under attack by German fighters and crashed into the sea. Of the eight crew members only one crew member escaped the aircraft as it fell toward the sea and survived. Pilot Officer Howie and six other members of the crew were buried in the Halsingborg (Palsjo) Municipal Cemetery in Sweden. Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Service File - Wilfred Herbet Howie