Life
Peter Dmytruk was born in Radisson, Saskatchewan in 1920 to a Ukrainian immigrant family. At the outbreak of World War II, Peter Dmytruk was living in Wynyard, Saskatchewan when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in July 1941. Following his training, he was shipped overseas where he served as a tail gunner with the 405th Bomber Squadron. During a mission over France, just east of Paris, Flight Sergeant Dmytruk's plane was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire. He survived the crash and after hiding in the woods, he was protected by locals who put him in touch with members of the French Underground. Dmytruk was led south through German-occupied France towards the escape route through the Pyrenees into Spain. Along the way, he was deeply impacted by the plight of the French people under a brutal Nazi occupation and chose not to be smuggled out of the country. Instead, he joined the French Resistance where they soon dubbed him, "Pierre le Canadien."
Peter Dmytruk's duties for the Resistance brought him to the small village of Les Martres-de-Veyre, about 15 kilometers south of Clermont-Ferrand where he gained a reputation amongst his French counterparts as a fearless fighter, undeterred by the ever-present danger. Following the sabotage of a German troop and munitions train, the Germans sent troops into Les Martres-de-Veyre. Normally, the Germans took reprisal for such sabotage incidents by executing the men of the village. However, on December 9, 1943, Peter Dmytruk was arrested and because the Germans believed the notorious "Pierre le Canadien" was responsible for the train sabotage, he was executed on the spot. As a result, the German troops believed they had broken the backbone of the local Resistance movement and did not conduct the usual mass executions of any of the citizens of the village.
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