The following is a letter printed in today's Toronto Star, regarding a true
Victory at Dieppe.
WANDA SINCLAIR
Rexdale, Ontario
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Unearthing a triumph
Re Disastrous Dieppe raid mourned 60 years later, Aug. 17.
The Canadian Press story telling of the loss of so many Canadian servicemen
at Dieppe disregards a most important victory accomplished by the Canadian
invasion force that day.
And while there is no way to equate the loss of lives on Aug. 19, 1942, with
the eventual facts learned about German defences, there was nonetheless a
brilliant victory accomplished - the gathering of vital information on how
German radar operated.
The man assigned to do that, Jack Nissenthall, was given a personal
bodyguard of 11 sharpshooters from "A" Company of the South Saskatchewan
Regiment.
Their orders were to protect him - but in the event of his possible capture,
to kill him. That was deemed necessary because he was a radar expert who
knew the most vital secrets of British and U.S. radar technology.
The son of Jewish refugees from the Holocaust living in England at the time,
he volunteered for the suicidal mission.
He agreed to join the 5,000-man combat unit in a surprise landing at Dieppe.
His assignment - to penetrate a key German radar station just above the
Dieppe beach. His task - to find out how it operated, facts deemed essential
to the Allied plans for D-Day.
Many variations of what actually happened made the rounds of newsmen at the
time. They even included one in which a radar station was dismantled and
transported along the town's streets and down the cliffs to waiting Allied
landing crafts.
Nissenthall and his 11-man bodyguard performed a brilliant task that day -
one that remained a secret until 1975, when British author James Leasor
published Green Beach, a book telling of the heroic venture.
Fred Kerner
Canadian Press, 1942-50
Toronto
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sinclair" <labehotiere@wanadoo.fr>
To: <sinclair@quarterman.org>
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 10:34 AM
Subject: 19 August 1942-Dieppe
Imagination is stronger than knowledge. Imagination tells us that today, 60
years ago the raid on Dieppe was
[ Excess quotations omitted. ]
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