Honouring Our Own Veteran: Tom Harrison

Meet Tom Harrison. At 78 years old, he’s still working as an Account Executive here at Kool FM, with major clients including Baytowne Hyundai and BayCity Kia. “I love working in radio, and I wouldn’t know what else to do!”

But what most people don’t know about Tom that before starting his career in radio and television 45 years ago, he served in the Royal Canadian Airforce, stationed in Zweibrücken from 1958-1962.

Tom was one of 30 Fighter Pilots of the 434 Fighter Squadron (also known as the Bluenose Squadron), and one of hundreds of Canadian Fighter Pilots in Europe at that time. Their main mission? As a part of the NATO agreement, they were committed to stopping Russian fighter jets should they make way into Europe.

Despite the fact that it was a Cold War, 103 of Tom’s friends and fellow Fighter Pilots died in the cockpits of their F-86 Sabres. Today and every day, Tom thinks about those brave young men who lost their lives to fight for the freedoms that we often take for granted.

During his time in Germany, Tom also fathered three sons.  In addition, Tom played Right Wing for the RCAF Flyers, who won the World Hockey Championships in 1954.

His plans for the future? Tom will be turning 80 in August of 2017, which is also when he plans to retire along with his wife, Pat.

We are honoured to have Tom as a part of the Kool FM team, and thank him along with all of Canada’s war veterans for their service.