Bergstein, Bunny

Bunny Bergstein was born April 1, 1924 in Toronto.  His parents had emigrated to Canada in the period after the Great War, fleeing anti-Semitism in Lithuania and Galicia.  They raised their family in downtown Toronto, where Bunny attended school and busied himself with his friends, playing ball in the local playground.  By the time Canada declared war Bunny was attending Harbord Collegiate, and he and his friends wondered if the war would still be going on when they came of age.  It was of course, and when Bunny got his letter he opted for the RCAF.  He began at Manning Depot in Toronto, and an officer there selected him for something top secret, which ended up being RADAR.  Bunny began his RDFO training in Toronto, and he was initially sent to Preston, Nova Scotia, where he monitored the skies over the Maritime shores.  When a request came to go to Newfoundland, Bunny took it, and he spent the remainder of the war at the radar station in Port-aux-Basques, which was considered an overseas posting.   They continued to perform their duties there, monitoring air traffic and enjoying their time with the locals.  VE Day happened while Bunny was there, and with the end of the war he was soon back home in Toronto, joining into the rhythms of civilian life and making the best life he could for himself and his family.  Bunny Bergstein was interviewed by Scott Masters in August 2022, at his home in Toronto.