An Unexpected Encounter with my Brother

Heroes Remember

An Unexpected Encounter with my Brother

Transcript

I took training at Fort Osborne Barracks to enter the army and then was sent to Shilo for advanced training and eventually I was sent to Debert, Nova Scotia and that’s where I went overseas from. And I went overseas on the same ship, the Isle de France. We were six days and we landed in Greenock, Scotland. And I must tell you a story about the second day at sea. Them days the shipwas locked down. You weren’t allowed on deck or anything. There was a big storm on the North Atlantic and that’s the way we went. It took us six days and the second night at sea I heard a commotion and I went to see and there was a bunch of sailors. And there was this guy running the crap game you call it, dice and it was my brother. And he’s one year younger than me. And we joined and he gave me part of his winnings and we had a gay old time. And we landed at Greenock, Scotland and I was kept aboardship for security for looking after the baggage and stuff like that. And I never seen my brother again until after the war. He went right over to Italy.

Description

On his second day at sea, Mr. Couture speaks about being on board ship and meeting up with his brother whom he didn’t know had joined up!

George Couture

Mr. George Couture was born in Pennsylvania, United States on November 5, 1924. At three years of age his widowed mother moved the family of five children to Selkirk, Manitoba at a time when Canada was experiencing the Great Depression. Signing up to serve his country, Mr. Couture tried two times and on his third attempt joined the infantry with the Winnipeg Rifles. He traveled overseas on Isle de France and through coincidence this was the same ship he returned home on after the war. Mr. Couture volunteered for service which resulted in him being part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, then on June 8th was captured as POW. Spending time in the prisoner of war camps and suffering the life of starvation and disease, Mr. Couture survived and was liberated on April 23, 1945. Returning home to Winnipeg, Mr. Couture continued to serve in the military and volunteered for the Korean War. After thirty years military service he retired from the Canadian military. He now resides in Calgary, Alberta.

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