Andrew Mynarski
Post War
Andrew Mynarski’s acts of heroism and subsequent death on June 13, 1944 began a legacy in his name that lives on today. When pilot Art de Breyne, Pat Brophy and other crew members of No. 419 Squadron reconvened in 1945, Brophy was able to tell the story of Mynarski’s heroics in the Lancaster’s final airborne moments. Later that year, de Breyne recommended Mynarski for an award – the recommendation worked its way through the RCAF and RAF. On October 11,1946, Andrew Charles Mynarski received the Victoria Cross posthumously, the highest military decoration available for those who display valour in the face of the enemy.
In November 1955, Andrew Mynarski VC Junior High School opened its doors in the north end of Winnipeg. There are also three lakes in northern Manitoba named after him. A bronze statue of Mynarski was erected at RAF Middleton St. George, England in 2005, and a bust of Mynarski was added to the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario in 2006. There is also a park, a Royal Canadian Legion, and an Air Cadet squadron that carry his name.
Perhaps the most significant tribute to Andrew Charles Mynarski is the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster, one of two airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers in existence. In a special ceremony on September 24, 1988, the restored bomber (detailed with the Lancaster KB726 markings) took flight carrying the fire axe Mynarski used in trying to free Pat Brophy.