e (0

areal

Princess Catherine not well known, but well loved

MY PRINCESS is dead.

ON THE OTHER HAND

She was i01 years of age and
the only princess] ever knew. And
now she has gone to some kind of

aristocratic heaven.

: 2A Romanian, she outlasted the

hated communists and against all

...odds got back to her beloved

_, country,

'-, Her name was.Caradja. Princess
-” Catherine Caradja, and you have
probably never heard of her. But
she was a great lady and much...
‘loved by the 110 Americans who
swere shot down but survived the
‘great low-level raid against the

~ Ploesti oil fields in 1943.

' «She was also the friend of the
: four British who joined the Yanks

in their Romanian prison camp, of ©

whom Iwas one.

She was educated in England,

:, attended’ Queen Victoria's funeral,
and spoke English with an accent
that might have belonged to the
Duchess of Bedford. But she was
Romanian, all right, and her
grandfather had been a prime
minister..." -

Her speech wasn’t the only —
aristocratic thing about her. She
‘had the ‘old-fashioned sense of
\noblesse oblige, which was why °

.. She worked for the Romanian Red

“Cross and founded and ran a

.“ famous orphanage.

She knew King Michael, and at

cher urging | he saw to it that the

News’ mailbox polic cy

“LETTERS TO the editor must be
legible (preferably . typewritten)
and include your name, full ad-
- dress and telephone number.

Due to space constraints the
“North Shore News cannot publish

American wounded were treated
royally. She also helped the PoWs
in other ways.

ft was she who brought us the
electric wiring we needed to light
our escape tunnel, Not that we
told her what it was for. But she
must have had a good idea we
didn’t want it to add to the pretty
lights over the barbed wire.

Her tong association with the
prisoners began when a Liberator
bomber from the raid crashed into
her back yard, that being at the
time a large estate.

She saw to it that the survivors
were well treated and it took her
and her retainers four hours to get
one badly burned officer out of
the plane. His name was Dick
Britt, and he remained her close
friend until he died a year or so
ago.

Her story didn’t end with the
brave days of old, though.

In 1952, at nearly 60 years of
age, this remarkable woman got
out of Romania with the help of
the anti-communist underground.-

She spent weeks hidden in a
barge that went up the Danube
from Bucharest to Vienna, and
eventually landed up in the U.S.
There she became a celebrity,
because it isn’t often that
princesses arrive with a message.

Her message was that com-

_Munism was the biggest-ever

threat to civilization. And never
forget it. “
For 35 years she spread the
word to anyone who would listen.
Not that everyone would listen, of
course, because anti-communism
was often regarded as being
cranky, what with Senator Mc-
Carthy and everything. But the .

‘old girl never gave up, and in the
-end was vindicated. :

She visited her ‘‘boys,’’ as she

‘called the Americans, and at-

tended their reunions. She also
visited Vancouver and stayed with
us.

- | was‘astonished when she ar-
rived here in 1964 or thereabouts
and I was able to interview her on
the CBC's Seven O’Clock Show. -
It didn’t seem possible that this
distinguished lady from the war
days should be in Canada and that

all letters. Published letters may
be edited for brevity, clarity, ac-
curacy, legality and taste. Letters
can be faxed to 985-3227 but still
must be signed and fully address-
ed.

BREAKFAST IN SASKATCHEWAN

7:30am to 11:00am Monday-Friday 28S

Bacon or Sausages,
Eggs, Panfried Potatoes,
toast and jam

SD

95 SMF
ascarcHima]
RESTAUKAN N

TA

_Located at the “Sundown” end Park rk Royal South

KEN BAXTER -
LAWYER ~ .

| 24 Years

LONSDALE QUAY
NORTH VANCOUVER

988-6321.

PRINCESS CATHERINE ....
real princess.

we should be talking together on
TV.

She was in her late 90s before
she saw the collapse and the death
of the Ceausescus, the dreadfu!
couple who ruled Romania.

In 1991 her autobiography was
published. It contains a postscript
which reads in part as follows:

‘1 came to America to speak to
you of the worth of freedom and
to find the boys who fell (were
shot down) in Romania. ... I did
not run away, but came to alert
you of the dangers of losing your
freedom in this great land.

“It hurts to know that I will not
return, but age has finally caught
up with me. My message now is,
‘Keep your hopes high but your
powder dry. I love you all. ...
May the Lord keep you in his
kind care.’ ”

Goodbye, Princess.

Hundreds of «
PLANTS, TREES, POTTERY, TOOLS

and much, much more

CUSTOM
DRAPERIES
AND
VWALANCES

Labour $8.50 per
panel untined,
$9.50 lined.

CUSTOM BEDSPREADS & COVERS
Low, low prices on blinds & tracks,
For FREE Estimates
Call 987-2966
Serving ihe North Shore for 23 years ,

HEARING TESS SET FOR
NORTH VANCOUVER

Those who HEAR but have trouble
UNDERSTANDING conversation are
urged to have this modern
electronic test to find out If their
loss is one of many that can be
helned. Everyone not hearing
Clearly should have a hearing test.
Even people who wear aids, or
those who believe nothing can be
done for them, should be tested.
Today, most hearing problems can
be helped. No hearing problem
should ever be ignored.

‘Call for your appointment
to avoid waiting. ~-

T. ASHTON»
Government Licensed |

Hearing instrument Spoclalist
NOT OF Litt

ONE BELTONE ELECTRONIC .;
- HEARING TEST. <1

I Bring this ad plus one penny in to your Beltone Hearing“Ald P
Center and get a Beltone electronic hearing evaluation.-One of our.”
trained hearing care specialists will conduct this thorough electronic

! evaluation which will determine the degree of your loss, f anye sy, i

304-1124 LONSDALE

(Across from North Shore News)

Poe ee
I
i

Government Usensed ‘e

ry
Fae bQunal OF tie
oe A OO OE, CN MA OD Oe ON MAN EO ATR oe ee Owe ‘erm eel END Ke Om ae

| ! ye
i! Ale 56: 988-4477 manmearel }

Haywood Ave. le
=

Marine Dr. z ‘ ”
West Vancouver - North Vancouver

2558 Haywood 1543 Lynn Valley
922-2613 985-1784

EN CENT