HK Deployment to France

Deployment to France

Around the third week of June, one evening, we were given the order to “mount up” and within an hour we rolled slowly along the Kentish roads from Folkestone to Tilbury docks in London. The M.P. 's were directing the convoys at all roadway intersections. We were all very excited and it was morning when we pulled into a fenced compound near the docks in London. Sleeping was under canvas and the food lines were run by the British Service Corps. The food was served continuously with each unit having two meals per day. It was awful. It had rained and the whole place was filthy.  To add to the excitement and feeling of “let’s get out of here”, the Germans were sending their Buzz bombs and V-2 rockets. All fired at London’s dock yard.

Fortunately, a few days later around sundown, we got word “mount up” and everyone scrambled to their vehicles and we were off. The distance to the ship, an LST (Landing Ship Tank) was short and we were very well trained in loading LST’s and so the loading went very quickly and smoothly. As soon as the last vehicle was on we were off, motoring down the Thames river.

The LST was gorgeous if you can describe a military vehicle in this way. The craft was American with an American crew. The food was something else. The best we had since we left home in Canada. The coffee urns were always on and we could have coffee and doughnuts anytime we wanted.The bunks were in tiers four high and clean. The whole ship was clean. It was unfortunately only a three day journey across to Berny Sur Mer in Normandy. The skies were clear and there was an armada as far as the eye could see in every direction. There was every conceivable naval craft: battleships, carriers, destroyers, LCI’s and LST’s.

We landed on the beach and got our first sight of dead soldiers, Germans and our own Winnipeg Rifles. We soon rolled down the Caen/Bayeaux road. We had expected that in the usual army fashion that we would go to a reserve area until being committed to action. Unfortunately, as soon as we got to the Carpiquet Aeroport, we relieved the Regiment de la Chaudiere and we were seriously in action. The Germans were committing their tanks and best troops on our front.

We soon got “bloodied” and some of my friends were killed and some wounded. I was assigned to go on patrols and I remember crossing the Orne River. We crawled across the railway bridge. I was the wireless operator and I carried a 39 set, which was big and bulky strapped to my back. On these occasions, it became a target for the German machine gunners. After the set was hit it didn’t work too well.

On one of these patrols, we were walking in single file and were being mortared. My friend Maclean from the lumber country of British Columbia, was hit by shrapnel and was instantly killed. We left him there and carried on our patrol.

To prepare myself for action in those days I would pray to God for my acceptance of His will. It helped to right yourself off and then whatever happened was OK. This always calmed me and I was able to handle any situation. In those days, I scorned the idea of asking God to help me, as I considered this to be cowardly. I may have done this on occasion, in a tight spot, but what worked for me was getting in touch and asking for forgiveness and acceptance.

Our infantry and tank units took heavy losses. Finally, there was a 100 bomber raid on Caen that lasted about six hours. We were on a ridge in slit trenches overlooking Caen when the raid was in progress. After the raid, we were able to push through Caen over the river and into the wheat fields to the south on our way to encircling the German forces in Normandy. Unfortunately, from this area the Canadian Army had attempted several massive assaults with tanks and infantry with very little to show for it except heavy casualties. The Germans were very experienced and had better weapons. It was in this area that on the 10th of August that I received a shrapnel wound in my back.