By Pat MacAdam
| When Jerry Billing returned to Canada
he thought his war was over. Not so! His private war with the Department of Veterans Affairs had only just begun. Jerry flew 250 combat sorties in Spitfires over Malta and Normandy. He flew with fighter pilot legends “Hap” Kennedy, George Beurling, Stan Turner, “Laddie” Lucas and Johnny Johnson. He was shot down three times. Flying off Malta, he parachuted safely into the sea twice. The first time, a German Me109 fighter lined up to strafe him in the water but was shot down by Jerry’s wing mates. His very last sortie was over Normandy after D-Day. His plane was shot up and he made a forced wheels-up landing at 160 mph in a field. Retired Cumberland doctor, Hap Kennedy flew cover and radioed: “the field on the left looks good.” He was shot down behind enemy lines, evaded capture for 50 days and rejoined his unit. Every Christmas since, Jerry and Hap have exchanged Christmas cards with the handwritten note: “The field on the left looks good.” During his war in the air, Jerry destroyed or crippled German fighters and bombers, an Italian submarine, troop trains, ammunition trains and locomotives. He has paid dearly for his heroics. When he bailed out into the sea he neglected to disconnect his electrical wires and oxygen hoses from his helmet. He suffered neck and back injuries which he did not report because he did not want to be grounded. When he ditched his fighter plane in the field in Normandy, his knees took the worst beating. Later, Windsor orthopedic surgeon, Dr. George Bernstein, described Jerry’s “gradual deterioration” of injuries to “the neck, dorsal and lumbar spine, hips, knees and ankles.” Dr. Bernstein had been conducting veterans’ exams since 1955. Violent shoot downs His letter to Veterans Affairs stated that Jerry’s condition was “initiated by three episodes of violent shoot downs that was an accumulative effect over the years producing a much more rapid pathological situation that would not have occurred if he had not been involved in Spitfire planes and shoot downs.” Jerry ended up with two new knees. Dr. Bernstein recommended a 52% pension for neck and back disability, a 20% pension for knee disabilities and 10% for ankle disabilities. Veterans Affairs granted Jerry a 45% pension in 1998. The official ruling was “generalized degenerative state and not pensionable.” Jerry’s condition warranted Vicase ampoules, which cost $300. Veterans Affairs balked at paying for them and Dr. Bernstein “scrounged them.” When he came home to Canada, the RCAF and DVA had no record of his service. “Pensions” reported “no record of … being injured … no record of him flying Spitfires.” It was left to the Royal Air Force, which produced a 72-page service record and citizens of Malta who produced affidavits, to attest to his heroics. In 1995 the president of France named Jerry a Knight of the Order of Merit. He was named an honorary citizen of France. The Island of Malta awarded him the Malta George Cross commemorative 50th anniversary Medal. Brehal awarded him freedom of the city. On Malta, he is received as a god. Museums on Malta and in Bayeux, France, display many pieces of Jerry’s wartime memorabilia — flight helmet, Mae West life jacket, tunic, flying boots, ribbons and pieces of his Spitfires. Red carpets rolled out When he returns to Malta and Normandy, red carpets are rolled out — courtesy Citroen automobiles and drivers and complimentary accommodation and meals in castles and chateaux. On May 4, 2004, Queen Elizabeth II wrote to Jerry to say she “admired the skill and precision of your flypast in your Spitfire. Your timing was perfect.” In 1995, War Amps CEO Cliff Chadderton and other significant Canadians nominated Jerry to receive the Order of Canada. The nomination appears to have been filed in a black hole. Jerry will be 86 next April. In 2001, DVA Minister Ray Pagtakhan gushed in a letter that his department was awarding Jerry monthly federal contributions “for housekeeping and grounds maintenance services.” In August, 2002, the Minister reported in a letter to Jerry that these payments “were increased.” The maximum payments were $3,120 yearly for housekeeping and $1,026 for grounds. In 2003, the Windsor office of DVA “arbitrarily” terminated Jerry’s payments with a demand that he repay back payments. He has received nothing since. Dr. Bernstein’s May, 2003 and May, 2004, medical assessments went ignored by DVA. Other subsequent letters have gone unanswered. Jerry was mentioned in Dispatches. Many of his “kills” went unrecorded because, as Jerry says, “Sergeant pilots didn’t make waves unless they wanted to be transferred to the Western Desert.” After the war, Jerry kept on flying. He taught fighter tactics in Sabres, test-flew supersonic jets, tested planes for DeHavilland and ferried planes to Vietnam. Jerry most certainly belongs in the Guinness Book of Records. He flew a Spitfire for 52 years and has forgotten how many log books he has gone through. He flew movie actor Cliff Robertson’s personal Spitfire in appearances and air shows for 23 years. Robertson’s plane — a Mark IX Spit (serial number 923) — flew air cover over Normandy on D-Day and shot down two Me109s. In 1961, it flew in the movie, The Longest Day. Robertson bought the war surplus plane for $60,000 and sold it to a Seattle aviation buff for $1.2 million US. Love affair ended Jerry’s love affair with the Spitfire ended in 1994 when he had two in-flight engine failures. His fight on the ground with the Department of Veterans Affairs is ongoing. Today, Jerry’s wingmen in South Woodslee are a gaggle of 30-40 Canada geese who show up at Jerry’s every morning for a corn breakfast. They fly alongside him when he takes his 65hp Aeronca up for a flip. |
