In the summer of 1945, the war in Europe was over, but the search for airmen who had gone missing over nearly six years had just begun. While hundreds of thousands of Canadian service personnel returned to Canada and demobilized, Canadians who had lost family and friends during the war grieved. Yet others held out hope as their loved ones were missing in action. This situation was most prevalent in the air force, which saw many of its crews vanish without a trace over the sea or enemy territory. Over 17,000 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) died during the Second World War. Of this number, an estimated 7,000 were missing in 1945.Today’s guest, Sean Summerfield, joins us to uncover how the Commonwealth air forces provided closure to tens of thousands of missing airmen’s families. After examining the broader efforts of the Missing Research and Enquiry Service (MRES), Sean takes us through the mystery of Lancaster bomber L-7576. Crashing in the Vosges, a range of low mountains in eastern France, the fates of two of the seven crew members took nearly 75 years to come to light. Sean has consulted MRES reports, war crimes investigation records, and French documents and correspondence to determine the fates of Flying Officers Harold Sherman Peabody and Arthur Harrison Doe. The result is an incredible story of how Canadians and French came together to bring closure to families and commemorate the lives of these RCAF airmen.  Three Canadian crew members of Lancaster bomber L-7576. The pilot, Flying Officer Harold Sherman Peabody, is flanked on his left by Flying Officer Lev Fiddick (bombardier) and right by Flying Officer James H. Doe (navigator). Missing are Flying Officer G. J. Wishart (RAF, flight engineer), Flight Sergeant Richard Proulx (RCAF, mid-upper gunner), and Sergeants A. Payton (RAF, wireless operator) and P.W. Buckley (RAF, rear gunner).PatreonHelp keep us on the air! Become a patron for Juno Beach and Beyond for as little as $2 per month. Make your secure contribution through Patreon.com.All proceeds support the Juno Beach Centre, Canada’s Second World War Museum in Normandy, France and allow us to continue to offer this content to listeners across Canada!Time StampsGuest BiographySean Summerfield received his Master of Arts in History from the University of Waterloo in 2018. His research report, “Swallowed into Dusk: Missing Airmen during the Second World War”, followed his investigation into the death of Flying Officer Sherman Peabody on behalf of the pilot’s family. Sean served for nearly 14 years in the Canadian infantry and is a veteran the War in Afghanistan. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.NotesThe following links offer more information on the topics discussed in this episode:PodcastsThe Roseland Spitfire with Tom HennessyAerodrome of Democracy – A Visit to the CH2A HangarOSCVI’s War Dead with Dave AlexanderThe Typhoon Project with Harry HardyEncyclopediaThe British Commonwealth Air Training PlanRCAF Bomber Squadrons OverseasThe Normandy CampaignCreditsJuno Beach & Beyond is hosted and edited by Alex Fitzgerald-Black, the Juno Beach Centre Association’s Operations and Outreach Manager.Mackenzie King’s speech to British Parliament from the British Pathé YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SlEvclY5LE&t=48sArtillery firing sounds from the CBC News: The National YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsCSQ4uWR1YFemale veteran’s voice (Eileen Green, née Short) Courtesy of The Memory Project, Historica Canada: http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/383:eileen-green-nee-short/ Winston Churchill’s “Finest Hour” speech from Jonathan Thomas’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB5wZtV1MWMSpitfire sound effect from Jason Kirby’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgZI4tAoMN0Dramatic Interlude by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.comMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/