50 Yeas Ago

The afternoon of May 17, 2008 will be the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Park Massacre.

It was on this day 50 years ago that 13 children aged 2 to 10 years were put to death due to the severity of injuries sustained during the course of human medical experiments.

50 years is a long time to wait for someone to say something about one of the most brutal crimes in Canadian history. 13 innocent children butchered during the course of roughly an hour by one man. A man who was well paid and effectively protected in order that he might perform medical experiments intent on benefiting a secret military agenda.

These forgotten children could not be returned to the outside world without a lot of unpleasant questions being asked. Most of them were psychotic, having suffered years of brutally cruel treatment at the hands of medical experimenters. So it was due to the severity of their injuries that they were euthanized, but in a more direct sense they were simply slaughtered.

The lone survivor of Lincoln Park remembers the day very clearly, as it was a Saturday and the base was extremely quiet. A fresh fall of snow covered the ground which caused some concern that tire tracks in the snow would cause questions to be asked, but no one seemed to notice.

Sara remembers them driving the truck up to the back of the building and being met at the door by Bob and his assistant. Being led down the hall and down the stairs to the basement, the door being locked behind them and the children confined to their cells.

The squadron leader who delivered Sara to the facility was in uniform. He paced the cement floor during the whole operation chewing his fingernails, as he was extremely anxious about getting 13 bodies off the base without any problems. He rambled on about his concerns, but reassured himself and his colleagues that once they were on the highway they would be home free.

It did not take the children long to realize what was planned for them. Most of them screamed and cried with tears streaming down their cheeks, while a few remained in a comatose state seemingly unaware of their surroundings. Some begged and pleaded for mercy, but no mercy was shown. It was a horrid and ghastly sight as the number of bleeding bodies on the floor increased from one to thirteen.

With 13 children laying dead on the floor Bob placed a small candle in each of their wounds. By the time he was finished each child had a burning candle protruding from either their chest or their forehead. He repeated his senseless prayers over and over again, give the souls to Balaam, Balaam is the one who cursed us. And on it went until the candles had finally burned down.

It was at this point that they attempted to fit the bodies into four coffins, but there was a problem, the 13 bodies would not fit into four coffins. For some reason the assistant felt that the bodies should remain intact, but Bob did not agree. We don't need them all he said. So they studied their list to see who they might not need intact. Finally the assistant was the first to speak and blurted out the name Sandy Mitchell. That was a mistake Bob yelled. She wont remember, she probably didn't even hear me insisted the assistant.

During the course of this operation Sara had been sitting in a chair clutching the seat and swinging her legs back and forth, she was terrified. Of course I don't know how terrified she felt or do I have words adequate enough to describe the horror she witnessed.

Bob motioned to the squadron leader who had been keeping his distance, just in case he said. And the air force officer pulled Sara from her chair and raped her on the cement floor while Bob and his assistant cut Sandy into segments allowing all 13 bodies to fit into the four coffins.

Sara would remark years later that it would have been kinder if they had killed her too, but it was intended she would survive, Bob insisted upon it.

Once the coffins were loaded onto the truck the squadron leader and Bob's assistant drove off the base and out to the highway. Sara's understanding was that they were headed for the mink farm, but their final destination remains in question.

Sara remained with Bob while he completed his paperwork and then the two of them left the base together.

The base was in the process of closing down and all the evidence was to be disposed of. Everything had to go and within a year the building itself was demolished. The one thing that remained was the concrete basement, it was filled in and covered over with soil.

Today beneath the Mount Royal College the concrete basement is hidden from view, but the forensic evidence remains.

13 innocent children were put to death on May 17, 1958, in order that the security of the secret medical programs should remain secure and to this day they still remain secure.

When will these children finally be heard, when will their screams finally reach ears capable of hearing. Has no one anything to say? How do you justify maintaining security intent on hiding such a horrific crime? Are you going to tell me you are only following orders?