HK Enlistment

Enlistment

Enlistment was just the thing to do for 19 year old males at that time. I wanted to be part of it. I wanted an end to the immigrant stigma and be accepted as having done my part when it was all over. Naturally, I didn’t consult my father. When I spoke with him after the deed, he replied “you could have thought of something better to do”. I am sure that my father had feelings about me fighting Germans and possibly fighting my brother (Dietrich) on the other side. He must certainly also have had that I was going against Mennonite traditions by taking up arms and this, doubly, since I had volunteered.

The army enlistees were inducted at the Horse Palace at the Exhibition grounds. Introduction to the army was a real shock to this shy Mennonite boy from Saskatchewan! To have people shout at you and humiliate you was quite a shock. To be thrown in with so many people from very different backgrounds and different levels of society was another revelation. For the first time I encountered people who were illiterate who had to be sent to special schools before they could function in the army. Fortunately, human beings can adjust to almost anything. I soon realized that all the shouting etc. couldn’t touch me. I was what I was inside of me and no Sergeant could touch that. I made the adjustment within weeks.