BORN AUGUST 21, 1921
DIED NOVEMBER 22, 1942 ON A BOMBING MISSION TO GERMANYDEARBORN, MICHIGAN, USA
James L.
Guichard, born 21 August 1904 at Pinconning Bay, Michigan, was the oldest of
the R5695C crew. On his Royal Canadian Air Force attestation application, James
wrote his year of birth as 1909 making him five years younger than his real
age! The enlisting officer, thinking James was 31, noted the applicant was at
the edge of the cut off for age. James never let it be known he was really
thirty-six. He was the son of George Louis Guichard, a Presbyterian minister,
and Carolyn Mae Henderson. He had three older sisters, Melite, Maude, and Naomi
and one younger brother, Charles Edward. Before enlisting, James graduated from
Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania 1927-1931 with a major in
Philosophy. Returning home, he entered the insurance business working for Aetna
Life & Casualty in Detroit. His sports were basketball and (American)
football.
On his
Royal Canadian Air Force application, he wrote “Due to the fact the US is not
at war I wish that my making this application be kept confidential.” The USA threatened grave consequences for men
joining the Canadian forces. Despite this, James enlisted in the Royal Canadian
Air Force in Windsor, Ontario on 11 January 1941, joining 9,000 other Americans
who joined the RCAF. He was sent to Air Observers School where he achieved
“above average” reviews. In remarks, he was noted to have “very wide business
experience” and a “very well-paying position.” The description continued “he’s a very
serious-minded person, absolutely dependable, very
anxious to get overseas. Frank, neat. A really
outstanding man who is commission material.”
James
indicated that his fiancée, Helene C. Stieler of Detroit, was the beneficiary
of his service estates.
