by Dan McCaffery for the Sarnia Observer
(2009) A Sarnia war hero who became a crusader for peace has died.
Joe Egan, who was also a noted community activist and businessperson, was 87. A graduate of Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School, Egan volunteered for duty with the Royal Canadian Navy shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War.
He was serving aboard the frigate HMCS Prince Rupert on March 13, 1944 when, after a fierce six-hour battle, it destroyed the U-575, one of Germany’s most successful submarines.
Eighteen German sailors were killed in the bloody clash but 36 others were taken prisoner. Egan, who helped some of his badly-shaken adversaries over the rails onto the deck of the Prince Rupert, spent the next 10 days guarding them with a sten gun.
During that time he exchanged addresses with a few, thinking he might correspond with them after the war.
Nothing came of it until 1990, when a letter arrived from Wolfgang Boehmer, the captain of the sub, expressing thanks for the fact that he and his men had not been left to die in the grim North Atlantic. Boehmer also invited Egan to attend a U-575 crew reunion.
What followed was a remarkable story of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Egan and his wife, June, flew to Germany for the 1992 event, staying for several days at Boehmer’s home.
Some of his former shipmates wanted nothing to do with the Germans but Egan insisted the time for hard feelings was past.
“The terrible, disgusting, horrible things carried out by Nazi Germany were wrong,” he said. “But I don’t believe these things were known by, or within the remotest ability of the German submarine crews to do anything about.”
Prior to his departure, Egan studied German and gave a speech to his former foemen, telling them, “Germany and Canada must never go to war again.”
Joe Egan escorts a German prisoner off the Canadian warship Prince Rupert in Halifax.
Before the reunion was over, Egan had the old German sailors singing the Prince Rupert fight song.
Boehmer, clearly moved by the show of friendship, said, “I hope the meeting with Joe Egan contributes to better understanding between nations and peace in the world.”
Egan never forgot Canadian friends lost in the war and often spoke to students during Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Fred Morley, the vice-president of Sarnia Branch 62 of the Royal Canadian Legion, said, “He was active in the community and he took part in navy parades and Battle of the Atlantic ceremonies. He was very likable and concerned about what was happening.”
When there was a national debate in 2003 about whether Canada should join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Egan spoke out forcefully against the idea, saying war was something that should not be entered into lightly.
Egan became an electrician after his naval career was over. He and June operated their own company, Power Installations, which helped build the modern Chemical Valley.
When his youngest daughter, Frances, died in a 1985 apartment fire, Egan, his wife and their nine surviving children organized a smoke alarm blitz, distributing hundreds of the life-saving devices in south-end homes. They also successfully pushed for the passage of a municipal smoke-alarm bylaw. For their efforts, Joe and June were named to the Mayor’s Honour List.
He served on Sarnia Rotary Club where he won the Paul Harris Fellowship award.
When June died in 2000, Joe married high school sweetheart Virginia, a decision that his family credits with extending and enriching the last nine years of his life.
Egan’s funeral mass is today in Sarnia.