W/O2 Mike Laffin crew 88 (20 missions)

Mike is one of 6 children, he enjoyed playing hockey, tennis, and baseball. During a break in a tennis tournament in 1939 he went to the local recruiting office and enlisted in the RCAF.

Many years later he would enter politics and was the only Conservative candidate to be elected MLA in Cape Breton then serve 18 years. He retired in the late 1980's but is still very active in his community of New Waterford, also very modest; Despite repeated attempts of local and provincial Governments to name any landmark in his honor, his reply "...over my dead body" or "...not while I'm alive".

Mike was the pilot of crew 88 and his Halifax was shot down on 16/17 June 1944, P/O C.V. Soderstrom was the only airman not survive from this aircraft, Mike would become a P.O.W. 2 days later. 

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality wanted to name the New Waterford soccer field and tennis courts "Dr. Mike Laffin Turf Field" in honor of Mike, he refused and would only agree to dedicate the field if it was named "Veterans Memorial Field" 

The plaque reads "MAYOR JOHN MORGAN AND COUNCILLORS OF THE CAPE BRETON REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY PROUDLY NAME THIS FACILITY VETERANS MEMORIAL FIELD DURING THIS “THE YEAR OF THE VETERAN”AND IN RECOGNITION OF ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO BRAVELY SERVED IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THIS NATION THIS MONUMENT WAS UNVEILED BY DR. MIKE LAFFIN ON BEHALF OF ALL VETERANS NOVEMBER 2005"

Pilot Wings Replaced - 11th Nov. 2006

"In the above photo (L to R ) is Guest Speaker Major John Gillis, POW Veteran Mike Laffin & Veteran Tom White who presented replacement Wings to Mike Laffin whose wings went missing"

Caption from the "Community Press" New waterford N.S. 17th Nov. 2006

Photo courtesy Linda Laffin