Ottawa, ON, August 28, 2007 - Cliff Chadderton, Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations, stated today that, if a report to the effect that the Canadian War Museum will change the wording on a text panel concerning the effect of Bomber Command in World War II is correct, the Directors of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation should be congratulated.

The report was published in today’s Ottawa Citizen. It stated that the Canadian War Museum would “adjust” its controversial Bomber Command exhibit to show greater “respect” to Canadian war veterans involved in the Second World War bombing of Germany.

Chadderton said that a change in the wording of a controversial panel would be “better late than never” if an amendment corrects the current version which has been interpreted by the Bomber Command Association as branding Canadian air crews as “war criminals” for indiscriminate bombing of German cities.

Chadderton stated that the damage done to the reputation of the crews of Bomber Command by the existing panel is a matter of regret.  It is necessary now that veterans mount a campaign to re-educate the public so that the 10,000 Canadians who lost their lives in Bomber Command “did not die in vain.”

“Those responsible for the War Museum must have realized that the controversial text panel, which indicated that Bomber Command’s aim was to crush civilian morale by destroying its cities was seen as demeaning to the RCAF air crews,” Chadderton said.

He referred to a well-known comment by Air Marshal Sir John Slessor, Chief of Staff of the Royal Air Force, who had congratulated the young Canadians for a campaign which he saw as being equal to the World War I battle of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge.