Cadets get once over

Michael Hilborn

This Monday marked the 61st anniversary of D-Day, so perhaps it was appropriate that a World War II veteran be the guest reviewing officer at the annual ceremonial review of 144 Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps (Fort Frances) on Saturday.
Wilf Henrickson of Rainy River did not see action on that historic day, however. A week earlier, on April 29, 1944, Henrickson was one the 261 men aboard HMCS Athabaskan when she was torpedoed off the French coast after an engagement with a German destroyer. One hundred and thirty souls were lost when the Athabaskan went down. Forty-two were rescued by her sister ship, HMCS Haida, and another six were picked up by smaller boats. The remaining 83 sailors, including Henrickson, were collected by a German warship and spent the remainder of the war as POWs.
In 2003, Henrickson participated in the making of an historical documentary about the event entitled, “The Unlucky Lady”, which detailed the building, service history, and ultimately the demise of Athabaskan. It also chronicled the men who served aboard her and the coastal communities who were affected by her service.
Prior to the inspection ceremonies, Henrickson recalled some of the events of that fateful night.
“We (Athabaskan and Haida) were engaged with two destroyers,” Henrickson remarked. “One of them was hit and badly damaged, so the skipper fired off all his torpedoes before she went down. I don’t think he had time to aim them, but one of them hit us,” he added.
Henrickson went on to describe how fate played a significant role in determining who lived and who died that night.
“I lost my best friend that night,” he recalled. “We were talking just before the torpedo hit us. I turned one way and he turned another to walk away. He walked over to the side of the ship just as it hit and then he was gone.”
Henrickson said the toll might have been higher had it not been for new survival gear that had recently been issued.
“They issued us special life jackets two weeks earlier,” Henrickson remarked. “They had a hat with a light on it so rescue ships could see you in the water. It also had a special pad you could pull down over your groin and stomach to protect you from underwater explosions.
“They saved many lives that night. Whoever designed it did a nice job.”
After the war, Henrickson went to work for Canadian National Railways until his retirement in 1982, when he moved to Rainy River and built a log cabin where he still lives today.
In 2002, Henrickson and some other members of Athabaskan’s crew were invited to Halifax for the recommissioning ceremony of the Athabaskan 3 – a Tribal Class destroyer built in 1972 that is now the flagship of Canada’s naval fleet.
After the parade and inspection, the following members of 144 Sea Cadet Corps were presented with awards for their accomplishments over the past year:
• Top new recruit (female) – Ordinary Cadet Amanda Beauregard;
• Top new recruit (male) – Ordinary Cadet Ryan Goertzen;
• Esprit de Corps award – Qualified Petty Officer First Class Shane Ikert;
• Top fitness award – Qualified Petty Officer First Class Austin Zin;
• Perfect attendance award – Qualified Petty Officer Emmanuel Whiting;
• Teamwork, leadership, and attitude award – Petty Officer First Class Giordan Zin;
• Core values award – Petty Officer Second Class Donald Matheson;
• Top cadet of the year – Petty Officer Second Class Donald Matheson.