Andrew Charles Mynarski

He crossed a burning Lancaster to help his trapped crewmate.

Andrew Charles Mynarski was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 14 October 1916. After brief service with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in September 1941 and trained as an air gunner. Posted to Britain, he eventually joined No. 419 (Moose) Squadron and flew operations with RAF Bomber Command.

On the night of 12–13 June 1944, Mynarski was the mid-upper gunner aboard Lancaster KB726 during an attack on the railway yards at Cambrai, France. A German night fighter struck the bomber, disabling both port engines and setting it ablaze. The captain ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft.

Mynarski saw that rear gunner Flying Officer George Patrick Brophy was trapped in his turret. He returned through the fire and tried repeatedly to free Brophy, even as his own clothing and parachute caught fire. When Brophy signalled that escape was impossible, Mynarski went back to the hatch, stood to attention and saluted his friend before jumping.

He landed in France but died from his burns on 13 June 1944. Brophy survived the crash and later testified to Mynarski’s courage. For his rescue attempt, Mynarski received the Victoria Cross posthumously, announced in The London Gazette in October 1946. He was 27 and is buried at Méharicourt Communal Cemetery, France. His sacrifice is commemorated by the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster flown by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.