Troman, Samuel Robert

Samuel Troman was born on February 9, 1921 in Lethbridge, Alberta to parents Samuel and Louise Troman. He was raised and educated in Lethbridge with brothers, John and Louis, and sisters, Gertrude, Louise, Bertha, Margaret and Patricia. At time of enlistment, Samuel was single and working as a station attendant at Short Stop Service. He married Miss Jacqueline Gabrelle of Edmonton on February 21, 1943. All three Troman boys served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, and only one would return home. On April 28, 1942, Samuel Troman enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force at Lethbridge. He remained in Canada for eleven months, receiving training as an air gunner and wireless operator at bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Macdonald. In March 1943, Flight Sergeant Troman arrived in the United Kingdom and was attached to 180 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. On November 26, 1943, Flight Sergeant Troman was involved in a bombing mission on a construction site at Martinvast. The aircraft is believed to have encountered heavy flak and to have collided with a second RAF bomber, also from 180 Squadron. The remains of the four man crew were recovered, and Flight Sergeant Troman was laid to rest in a collective grave with his American and Australian crewmates at Cherbourg Old Communal Cemetery. For his wartime service, Flight Sergeant Troman was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. His mother, Louise received the Memorial Cross in honour of Samuel. Sadly, she had already received a Memorial Cross in honour of her eldest son, John, who was killed just three months earlier. A second Memorial Cross was issued to Samuel’s wife, Jacqueline