- Born 27-04-1921 in St. Peters Bay, Goose River.
- Deceased 01-05-1945 in Ootmarsum – 24 years.
- Parents Andrew Joseph and Ida Ellen MacLaren nee MacPhee from Goose River, Armadale, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Canadian soldier in the Cape Breton Highlanders RCIC – Service nr. F/96289
Jack was the fourth in a family of thirteen children, they had a farm in Goose River. Jack and his older brother Roddie were inseparable. Both went into service in 1941. Roddie joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in Canada.
Jack was in October 1941 a soldier in the Cape Breton Highlanders. In March 1942 he went overseas. He was deployed in Italy, France and then in the Netherlands. In late April, during the Battle of Delfzijl, Jack and his comrades held a short break in an abandoned house. Because it was very crowded and warm, he took off his helmet. Shortly afterwards there was an explosion. Jack got heavily injuired by shrapnel in his head.
He was transferred to the Canadian Military Hospital in Ootmarsum, where he died shortly afterwards.
Temporary grave at the Kuiperberg Ootmarsum until April 1946.
Buried: Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, box X, row G no. 12.
Awarded with the War Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the Italy Star and the France-Germany Star.
Text on grave: ‘Requiem aeternam, Dona ei Domine: Et lux perpetua, luccat ei.’
