Len Kubas was born May 15, 1937 in Winnipeg. He grew up there during the Second World War, living with his grandparents and tending their victory garden. His father was in the RCAF at the time, and was stationed in nearby Brandon, doing his part in the BCATP. Len’s schooling continued into the postwar years, and he eventually made the decision to attend military school in St-Jean, Quebec – the CMR. He spent time there as well as at RMC in Kingston, and he rose to become one of the leading cadets in his class. Later he was attached to 426 Squadron, flying North Star aircraft out of Trenton on trans-Atlantic flights to Canadian bases in Europe via the Azores. Len served as a navigator during those long-distance flights; on the home front he married Kathleen – a teacher in Trenton – and the two of them raised their family in those years. Along the way Len was selected for public relations training, which he completed at Syracuse University. He served as a PR officer for the RCAF, and also wrote for base publication Voxair at CFB Winnipeg when he was a navigator instructor. Len was in the RCAF for 12 years, during which time he logged 8000+ hours of flight time. Scott Masters and Zach Dunn interviewed him at the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing in December 2025.
