Thousands have signed a petition to give Britain’s last surviving Dambuster a knighthood.
George “Johnny” Johnson is a 95-year-old Royal Air Force veteran and one of two remaining members of the original Dambusters mission, the other being Canadian Fred Sutherland.
During the Second World War, Johnson and 132 other airmen took off one night to destroy three German dams, using top secret bouncing bombs.
The mission was extremely dangerous and involved flying low into German territory.
“On the tenth run we were down to 30 feet and when I said, ‘Bomb gone,’ someone at the rear said, ‘Thank Christ,’” recounted Johnson.
The mission successfully damaged part of Hitler’s industrial heartland but only about 80 members returned, and of those, only 45 survived the war.
“There is so little recognition of the loss of life from bomber command during the war,” Johnson said. “I don’t know of any other single military unit that had as many losses.”
But now all these years later Johnson and his fallen comrades might finally get the recognition they deserve.
More than 200,000 signatures have been hand delivered to 10 Downing Street in London, England, and as of Feb. 2, 2017 the number of signatures on the petition has surpassed 300,000.
“Just because somebody is not famous, not newsworthy does not mean they are not deserving of our country's highest honour,” said petition organizer John Nichol, a Gulf War veteran.
Johnson said he’s amazed by all the support.
With a report from CTV News Paul Workman
