b' WWII VETERAN LORNE SHAW IourThe Secret Keeper lives in Port Perrynmidst,rightherein PortPerry,thereisanarmy veteran who had the specialized jobofdecodingcommuniqus.In 1996, he received ocial notice that after 50 years of silence, he was al-lowed to reveal what his military job was. But other than saying general-ized things such as he determined troop movements, he is prohibited from sharing any of the con dential details.ThatswhyLorneShawis known as The Secret Keeper.Atthetenderageof16,Lorne joined the Reserve Army. In 1944, he joined the regular army when he was 18 years old. His basic training was in Brantford, Ontario.Lornewasstationedinthe AustralianoutbackinNorthern Australia.Hewasamemberof the#1CanadianSpecialWireless Group.Helearnedhowtointer-pret and analyze Japanese military messages.Morsecodehas26characters and the Japanese code has 73 char-acters,Lorneexplained.Usinga specialtypewriter,thecharacters werepunchedin,todecipherthe information. You had to be really careful to hitLorne Shaw in 1944 at camp in Pat Bay,More than 50 years later, Lornenally all of the right keys, Lorne noted. just outside of Victoria B.C. got the recognition he deserved. This decoding apparatus was veryvery hot. Mosquito nets were neces- ingtocivilianlife?Absolutely, loud. Lorne said that he now has tosary because of the threat of malaria.Lorne enthused.wear hearing aids in both ears afterThey slept on roll up cots. I went back to doing what I did listening to the dots and dashes onThere was an element of dangerbefore I left, Lorne said. At 16, he the code for four hours at a time.there, Lorne revealed. The area Ihadlandedhis positionasarst The earphones really magni edwas in was bombed 70 times. bookkeeper. He worked as a book-the sound, he recalled. GeneralDouglasMcArthurwaskeeper and accountant for large com-It was a special mission, LorneinchargeofthewarintheSouthpanies,primarilyGeneralElectric, described.IstillcanttalkmuchPaci c in 1945 when Lorne was serv- for 38 years of his career. He worked about it. ing.Interestingly,hisbrotherwasin Toronto, Montreal and Barrie, and In 2001, he received a letter fromalso in the army, serving in Englandwas the Manager of Finance for sev-General Baril, the Chief of Defenseand Europe.eral GE departments.Sta , who sent him a defence medal,My mother used to say that herAdept with numbers, 94-year-old a Paci c star, and a letter thankingtwo sons were in the army on op- Lorne still does taxes for himself and him for his dedicated service. positesidesoftheworld,Lornesome relatives in his large family.His camp in the Australian out- commented. While he was in Australia, Lorne backwasprettyprimitive,heFebruary of 1946 was memorablehad a pen palJoyce, a lovely lady said.Theylivedintentsandhadbecause Lorne came home to Dundas, makeshift shelters. The weather wasOntario. Was he happy about return- Please turn to page 2624FO FOFOCUCSUS S NEOPVTEEMMBBEERR2200126025FOCCUUSS NSOEVPETMEMBEBRER 2 0220016'