“Those who die for their country go to heaven.”
During a battle in the Netherlands, the chaplain was highly regarded by the soldiers but he was a little too reckless . . . .
Jacques Raymond
First name
Jacques
Last name
Raymond
Gender
M
Biography
Jacques Raymond was born in Trois-Rivières and lost his father when he was very young. He was placed in an orphanage with one of his brothers, because his mother could not take care of her seven children all by herself. At the age of 17, he returned to Trois-Rivières to work at Wabasso Cotton Mills. When war broke out, he received a letter asking him to undergo some tests in Longueuil. He started his two-month training in Valleyfield. He spent six months in Western Canada, where he learned English and continued his training. He shipped out from Halifax in early 1943 on board the Nieuw Amsterdam for Greenock, Scotland, to continue his training. He took part in the Normandy invasion with the Régiment de la Chaudière. He also participated in the battles of Carpiquet, Falaise, Caen and crossed Belgium and Holland. He even went as far as Germany. He remained in Europe for 11 months.
People old ID
344
People Language
B
Carpiquet and Falaise
Mr. Raymond recounts the Battle of Carpiquet, France, where a dozen of his fellow soldiers were found hanged by the Germans, and the battle of Falaise, with Rommel’s Panzers.
Normandy Invasion
Mr. Raymond describes the Normandy landing, the atmosphere during the Channel crossing and the noise when they approached the beach.
Defending My Country as it Went to War
Mr. Raymond relates how he came to enlist, the propaganda at the time, his training and his ocean crossing in which 6,000 soldiers were crammed into a ship designed for 1,500.