Total war three kingdoms spy defection series#
This series has detailed coverage of the period from 1968 to 1981 when all Military Police and Intelligence occupations fell within the dual-function Security Branch. Hal Skaarup retired from the CAF after 40 years of combined reserve and regular force service, but he remains very active in the military history arena and has authored numerous books, including a 3-volume set on the history of Canadian Military Intelligence. He subsequently rejoined the air force as a service policeman in the 1950s-serving in Hamilton ON, North Bay ON, Goose Bay NL, Toronto (Downsview) ON, Zwiebrücken, Calgary AB, Comox BC, Kamloops BC, and finally Moose Jaw SK where he retired in 1973 as a Sergeant. Hal believes the grenade was later assessed by the base ordinance disposal team to be inactive, although the story he was told at the time was that it had been destroyed in place (perhaps as a way to dissuade other less cautious children from touching such objects if found in the future).Ĭorporal Precoor would have been particularly attuned to the dangers of unexploded ordinance since he had previously served in the RCAF during the Second World War. Far from being in trouble, the youngster was asked to accompany the service policeman back to the site along with a base photographer to make a photo story for der Flugplatz about unexploded ordinance safety. Precoor from the station's Air Force Police section. The next day the school principal summoned young Hal from his classroom, and he was met by Corporal Armand E. Recalling the numerous lectures given at the base school about the dangers posed by the various types of military ordinance that frequently turned up in the region-including unexploded munitions from two World Wars, jettisoned aircraft fuel tanks and debris from crashed RCAF fighter jets-Hal stopped right where he was until the neighbour drew him back and the two got out of the field with wary eyes still cast toward the small bomb.
While scouring an area where his neighbour had previous found fossils, Hal spotted the grenade. Eleven year old Hal was out hunting for fossils in a nearby field with an adult neighbour who was a rock hound. Harold's father was a member of the RCAF and in 1962 their family lived not far from the 3 Wing airfield in Zweibrücken. Hal kindly provided us with the backstory to this der Flugplatz cover. After transferring to the regular force in 1983, into the newly separated Intelligence Branch, he twice served as a staff member with the Canadian Forces School of Intelligence and Security in Borden - first in 1984 and later in the early 1990s.
In 1971, 'Hal' joined the reserve component of the Canadian Armed Forces' new dual-function Security Branch as an intelligence officer. The boy was Harold Skaarup, a name familiar to many older MP veterans. 3 Fighter Wing, RCAF Station Zweibrücken, Germany, featured an interesting picture of an RCAF policeman, a young boy, and a hand grenade over the caption of "Dangerous Find". The cover of the 23 March 1962 edition of der Flugplatz, the magazine of No. LCol Paul Thobo-Carlse, Director of History and Heritage, Canadian Military Police Association, put the following article together: Cpl Arnold Eugen Precoor and I made the cover of Der Flugplatz, a weekly news magazine published by the 3 (F) Wing Public Affairs office. They decided to use the photo as a public service warning to children of all ages in the community to be aware and stay well clear of any such unexploded ordnance. I was with an adult who carefully led me away and reported it to the Air Force Police on base. While searching for fossils in a nearby farmer's field, I came upon a hand grenade that had been left behind by Allied soldiers ca 1945. The legacy of the Second World War and the damage caused by it was prevalent everywhere back then. My father served in the RCAF during the Cold War, and during his service from 1954 to 1974, our family was based at 3 Fighter Wing, Zweibrucken, Germany (1959-1963). Der Flugplatz, "Dangerous find", 3 Fighter Wing, Zweibrücken, Germany, 23 March 1962.
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