Description
Mr. Toney describes how much he enjoyed hand picking the best men to join his patrols.
John Martin Toney
John Martin Toney was born on September 26, 1923 on the Neskonlith Reserve, British Columbia. The strongest influence in his life was his grandfather, who taught him spirituality, life and survival skills. Mr. Toney feels that at that time he was being groomed to become a Chief. By the age of eight, he was hunting game to help feed his family. He later worked at a ranch and then as a carpenter. Proud to enlist, the army’s restrictive criteria forced Mr. Toney to renounce his Aboriginal heritage and designate himself an Irish Catholic. He was accepted by the Seaforth Highlanders, Engineering Corps, based on his success at demolition. His first action saw him in the second wave at Dieppe where he witnessed much death and suffering. Agile in the field, he hand-picked and led many reconnaissance and demolition patrols against the Germans. Mr. Toney was wounded twice, and after his second recovery, finished the war as motorcycle dispatch rider. He then signed up for Pacific duty, returning home early
Transcript
I got so I could, at night I could pinpoint a person sneaking up on me. Just got, my senses got that clean that I’d be sitting there and I’d hear somebody sneaking and the Germans were clumsy people. When they walk, they sound like a horse. Lots of noise. I got, I used to lead some patrols in the winter, but I’d pick my men. I’d watch how they walk and I’d pick . I’d take eight, eight infantry men with me and we’d lead them back and one time we went back to this here army camp where the Germans were staying and all we did was wrote in big letters “Canada was here” on the door. Then we moved back over the little ridge and watched. Just coming daylight and the Germans just getting up and they saw this thing and boy, looked like ants all running around. Another time we had a bunch of tanks and they give us these what they call clam mines. It’s a mine about so big and it’s magnet on one side. You run up beside a tank and toss it. It sticks on, blows right away. We picked out all our tanks, got all my guys ready to go down this row of tanks. We popped the whole bunch and took off. The things like that, it seemed like it was fun to me then, that time, but I know it was kind of hard on the people we were blowing up, but then as you’re taught, it was either you or him. Whoever’s the fastest, gets it.