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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 16, 2013 | 6 A `Rosie the Riveter' tells her story by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Students from Garth Webb Secondary School learned Friday what war is like for those left behind during a presentation from someone who lived through the experience. Vi Connolly of Hamilton was 19 years old in 1942 when her husband of three months, Bill, left to fight in the Second World War. Connolly characterized the next three and a half years as a journey marked by devastation, isolation, inspiration, faith and, most of all, love. Connolly said her husband was a hero for reasons, which became obvious when she recounted a story where Bill had tied a rope around his body and jumped into savage seas to save a shipmate who had been swept overboard during a brutal storm. With Bill sailing the Atlantic with the Royal Canadian Navy, Connolly resolved to help the war effort in her own way by quitting her job as a telephone operator and taking a position at a Hamilton steel mill. Working on warships In this role, Connolly helped build many warships similar to the ones her husband would serve on. "Was this irony, or destiny, or both?" she asked. "It was truly exciting work." Other jobs saw Connolly help repair Allied planes and weld equipment for the Canadian Army. Disaster struck on April 29, 1944 when the HMCS Athabaskan, the ship Bill was sailing on, was struck by a torpedo and sunk in the English Channel. Connolly, who was living with her in-laws at the time, learned about the tragedy the following day when she received a phone call from a neighbour whose son had also been aboard. Mother's intuition "I collapsed into my mother-in-law's arms, who immediately, and without hesitation, told me that Bill was OK... mother's intuition. It was one of the most devastating and frustrating times in my life and that of our immediate family and friends," said Connolly. "It was war, after all, and although I knew tragedy could happen that thinking did not lessen the constant ache in my heart." Connolly said while the days that followed were difficult, it was the nights she feared the most. During those nights, she said, sleep would not come and her mind would fill with thoughts about what had happened to Bill. Was he able to swim ashore? Was he frightened the enemy would find I collapsed into my mother-in-law's arms, who immediately, and without hesitation, told me that Bill was OK, mother's intuition. It was one of the most devastating and frustrating times in my life and that of our immediate family and friends. Hamilton's own Rosie the Riveter Vi Connolly, from there forwarded to Canada. "We had a darling postman. Every time he had a letter from my husband, he would ring the doorbell twice," said Connolly. "That morning he recognized Bill's postcard in his bag and came directly to our neighbourhood telling all of our friends and neighbours the good news. By the time he reached our home, there were at least a dozen men and women behind him. Some were waving flags and others were shouting, `He's alive.'" Connolly was not present to see this spectacle as she was at work, but word of the postcard soon reached her. Her boss immediately allowed her to leave early so she could go home and celebrate with family and friends. A day to remember "It was a day I shall never forget," she said. Despite the great joy, Connolly also felt sorrow for the 128 families of the Athabaskan crew members who received very different telegrams, those telling them their loved ones would not be coming home. Ninety-one of these men washed up on the beaches of France and were buried there. Thirty-seven members of the crew were never found. Bill came home at the end of the war and he and Connolly enjoyed 67 years together. Connolly learned that after Bill's capture he and four other signalmen from the Athabaskan were extensively interrogated, first by the German Navy and then by the feared Gestapo. The Germans wanted to know the Allied signal codes, which if divulged could have jeopardized the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy. Bill and the other signalmen said nothing, even when they stood in front of a firing squad and threatened with execution. Connolly called on the students to remember the heroism of these five men as their contribution to history is not listed in any textbook or historical record, she said. Garth Webb Secondary School hosted Bill Green, Keith Wood, and Vi Connolly of the charity Remembering Canada' Heroes to speak about their experiences in the Second World War. Here, Connolly speaks to students about her husband's time as a prisoner of war and the work she did back home. photo by Eric Riehl­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) him? Or was he wounded and still in the cold waters of the Atlantic calling for help? "All I could do was cling to my faith and pray to God to send my Bill some help," she said. Over the next few days, Connolly learned the Athabaskan's sister ship, HMCS Haida, had picked up 47 survivors of the Athabaskan's 260 man crew. Bill, however, was not among them. After the Haida returned the survivors home, Connolly spoke with a friend who had known Bill. However, this friend was only able to tell her that in the confusion of the sinking it was impossible for him to say what had happened to Bill or any others still missing. Connolly would later learn the man had chosen not to share with her the fact that he had seen the communication station -- where Bill would normally be -- blown off the ship. Weeks later, the Germans announced they had picked up 85 men from the Athabaskan, however, it took the Red Cross three months to convince the Germans to release the names of the survivors. Postcards sent home At that time, the Red Cross provided the prisoners with a pre-printed postcard which each signed. These postcards were sent to England and