Andrew Mynarski Andrew Charles ( Andy ) Mynarski VC ( 14 October 1916 – 13 June 1944 ) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for bravery in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Mynarski was 27 years old and flew with 419 " Moose " Squadron , Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War when he gave his life attempting to help rescue a trapped crew member . His Victoria Cross was awarded in 1946 as the last such award to a Canadian airman in the Second World War . Early years . Andrew Charles Mynarski was born in Winnipeg , Manitoba on 14 October 1916 , the son of recent Polish immigrants . Known as Andy to his close friends , he had five other siblings , two brothers and three sisters . Mynarski was educated at King Edward and Isaac Newton Elementary Schools , later graduating from St . John ' s Technical School . To help support his family after his father ' s death , at the age of 16 , he worked as a chamois cutter . Wartime service . In 1940 , Mynarski joined the Royal Winnipeg Rifles , a militia unit , but only served a short time before enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) . In September , 1941 , he was posted to No . 3 Manning Depot in Edmonton . After basic training , he went to No . 2 Wireless School in Calgary but had trouble learning Morse Code . He was then posted to No . 3 Bomb and Gunnery School at MacDonald , Manitoba , graduating just before Christmas as an air - gunner , earning his " AG " brevet . Mynarski was promoted to temporary Sergeant in Halifax just prior to going overseas in January 1942 . After a series of transfers through operational training units , as a Warrant Officer ( second class ) , he joined Flying Officer Art de Breyne ' s crew as the mid - upper gunner in 419 " Moose " Squadron , based at RAF Middleton St . George , Yorkshire . The squadron first flew combat operations using Vickers Wellington bombers before converting to the Handley Page Halifax bombers . After a short introduction to this four - engine heavy bomber , 419 Squadron began to receive the Avro Lancaster bomber in 1944 , including examples built in Canada by the Victory Aircraft Company in Malton , Ontario . In early June , de Bryne ' s crew received Canadian - built Avro Lancaster Mk X bomber , # " KB726 " , coded " VR - A " ( call sign A for Able ) . The last " op " . In the aftermath of D - Day attacks on 12 June 1944 , Mynarski was aboard VR - A , taking part in the crew ' s 13th operation , a raid on northern France . They reached their target at midnight , Tuesday 13 June . After encountering flak over the coastline and briefly being " coned " by searchlights , the Lancaster was attacked by a Junkers Ju 88 enemy night fighter over Cambrai , France . Raked by cannon fire with major strikes on the port engines and centre fuselage , a hydraulic fire engulfed the bomber . Losing both port engines , de Breyne ordered the crew to bail out . As Mynarski approached the rear escape door , he saw through the inferno in the rear , that tail gunner Pilot Officer Pat Brophy was trapped in his turret . The tail turret had been jammed part way through its rotation to the escape position . Without hesitation , Mynarski made his way through the flames to Brophy ' s assistance . All his efforts were in vain , initially using a fire axe to try to pry open the doors before finally resorting to beating at the turret with his hands . With Mynarski ' s flight suit and parachute on fire , Brophy eventually waved him away . Mynarski crawled back through the hydraulic fire , returned to the rear door where he paused and saluted . He then reputedly said " Good night , sir , " his familiar nightly sign - off to his friend , and jumped . Except for Brophy , all crew members of the Lancaster managed to escape the burning bomber . Five left through the front escape hatch on the floor of the cockpit . When bomb aimer Jack Friday , tried to release the escape hatch cover in the aircraft ' s nose , the rushing wind ripped it from his hands . The hatch cover caught him above his left eye and knocked him out . He fell into the open hatch and jammed it closed until Flight engineer Roy Vigars reached him to quickly clip on Friday ' s parachute and toss him out the hatch while pulling the unconscious crewman ' s rip cord . Only Mynarski managed to leave via the rear escape door . Mynarski ' s descent was rapid due to the burnt parachute and shroud lines , resulting in a heavy impact on landing . He landed alive though severely burned , with his clothes still on fire . French farmers who spotted the flaming bomber found him and took him to a German field hospital but he died shortly afterwards of severe burns . He was buried in a local cemetery . Brophy remained trapped in the bomber and remained with the bomber when it crashed in a farm field . As the bomber disintegrated , and began breaking apart , Brophy survived the crash and the subsequent detonation of the bomb load . Still lodged in his turret , the crash broke the turret open with him pitched out , striking a tree and being temporarily knocked out . Four of the crew members : Brophy , navigator Robert Bodie , radio operator James Kelly and pilot de Breyne were hidden by the French and , except for Brophy , returned to England shortly after the crash . Vigars remained with the unconscious Friday and both were captured by the Germans , being interned until liberated by American troops . Brophy joined French Resistance fighters and , after joining a resistance unit to continue the fight on the ground behind enemy lines , returned to London in September 1944 , where he learned of Mynarski ' s death . It was not until 1945 when Brophy was reunited with the rest of the crew that the details of his final moments on the aircraft were revealed . He related the story of the valiant efforts made by Mynarski to save him . Mynarski lies buried in Grave 20 of the CWGC plot in the Méharicourt Communal Cemetery , near Amiens , France . Legacy . Victoria Cross . In late 1945 , de Breyne started the process of gaining recognition for Mynarski ' s extraordinary deed by recommending an award and enquiring about the location of his grave . Although facing some initial resistance , the recommendation worked its way up the command structure of the RCAF and RAF . On 11 October 1946 , a Victoria Cross was posthumously awarded for " valour of the highest order " to Andrew Charles Mynarski , by then also awarded the rank of Pilot Officer . Remembering Andrew Mynarski . Mynarski ' s Victoria Cross was loaned by his family to Air Command in 1989 and is on display in the entrance foyer at the Mynarski Memorial Room of the Headquarters , 1 Canadian Air Division , in Winnipeg ( where a number of other family artifacts are on display ) . No . 419 Squadron in CFB Cold Lake also displays the original fire axe that Mynarski used to try to free the jammed Lancaster turret ; the axe was recovered from the Lancaster bomber at the crash site in northern France . A Junior High school in Winnipeg , Andrew Mynarski VC School , a park in Alberta , the Royal Canadian Legion " Andrew Mynarski " Branch 34 and 573 " Andrew Mynarski " Air Cadet squadron all bear his name . A chain of three lakes in Manitoba has been named after him by the Geographical Placenames of Canada and at CFB Penhold , one of the locations in which he trained , the married quarters area is known as Mynarski Park . Mynarski was also honoured in 1973 when he was inducted into Canada ' s Aviation Hall of Fame . The Avro Lancaster of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton , Ontario , one of only two airworthy Lancasters in the world , is known as the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster in honour of Pilot Officer Mynarski , and is painted in the markings of his aircraft . Mynarski ' s bust has joined the other " Valiants " when the Valiants Memorial was unveiled in Ottawa , Ontario . This memorial site is a collection of nine busts and five statues and a large bronze wall inscription that commemorates 14 individuals celebrated for their personal contributions , but also representing critical moments in Canada ' s military history . A larger - than - life bronze statue of Pilot Officer Mynarski , sculpted by Keith Maddison , was dedicated in 2005 at RAF Middleton St . George , the bomber base in England where he served . The memorial depicts Mynarski at the rear of the stricken aircraft , his right arm raised in a salute . Andrew Mynarski is also remembered at the Saint George Hotel in Middleton St . George by the " Mynarski Bar " , a bar dedicated to him where images of him and a replica VC are on display . His hometown of Winnipeg is building a memorial to Mynarski . A group of local Winnipeggers prominent in business , government , heritage , military and community organizations under the auspices of the Air Cadet League of Canada have embarked on a fund - raising project to cast a new statue in a campaign known as " bring Andrew home " . In the media . Mynarski ' s story has been powerfully dramatized in the Canadian Historica Foundation ' s series of Heritage Minutes . Mynarski was also profiled in the 2006 docudrama " Victoria Cross Heroes " which included archive footage and dramatisations of his Victoria Cross - winning action . His story was recently recounted in " As Close as Brothers " ( 2011 ) documentary , shot in Canada using the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster as well as an Avro Lancaster bomber and artifacts at the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton , Alberta .