ROBERT LAWRENCE McMILLAN
aka LAWRENCE ROBERT McMILLAN
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Birthplace: Enlisted: Date: Re-Enlisted: Date: Place: Tour: Rank: Discharge: |
Windsor, Ontario The Royal Canadian Air Force prior to September 1942 and discharged under the name Lawrence Robert McMillan September 16, 1942 Windsor, Ontario 1942 - 1945 Flying Officer as Lawrence Robert McMillan October 22, 1945 |
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Robert Lawrence McMillan - standing on right
Robert L. McMillan enlisted in the RCAF, in Windsor, Ontario sometime prior to 16 September, 1942. He re-enlisted under the alias, Lawrence Robert McMillan, on the aforementioned date.
Rumour has it that, while in England, as Robert L. McMillan, he was involved in a heated, inebriated discussion of the merits of the Spitfire versus the P51 Mustang. The high ranking U.S. Air Force officer, with whom he was arguing, offered a demonstration. F/O McMillan accepted and sitting on the U.S. officer’s shoulders, closed the canopy and took the unauthorized flight in the Mustang, into the wild, black yonder.
During the flight, while “buzzing” nearby buildings, some damage occurred to the thatched roofs. After a successful landing, they were greeted by MPs and unceremoniously taken into custody.
F/O McMillan ended up back in Windsor. In later years, he stated he was “deeply ashamed to be able bodied and not in uniform”. He then came up with the idea to re-enlist by switching his first and middle names. With the help of a family member, who was the RCAF medical examiner in Windsor, he avoided some of the previously received inoculations and re-entered the RCAF with his new name, Lawrence Robert McMillan.
He flew Lancaster bombers in a theatre of war and was honourably released on 22 October 1945. He believed that the RCAF probably knew of his little scam but he felt they needed pilots. His real identity was almost revealed on one occasion. He heard his real name called out loud from afar, by a pilot he had known during his previous stint. Being an athlete with long legs, he was able to run through a hangar full of hanging parachutes to avoid a reunion. He died in 1975.
Submitted by Kent McMillan
Robert, now seated beside old man.
