Bringing his Family to Germany

Heroes Remember

Bringing his Family to Germany

Transcript

I guess that maybe, one of the happier things was in 1953, when we were sent over to Germany as a unit. And we travelled on a Canadian steamship, and I don’t even remember the name of it now, but the whole regiment was on the same ship there. You know, we had a fine time. At that time, we had four children. They were there, too. The whole families went. Well, they thought it was choice. Not only was the children taken care of, but at meal times, the crew took care of the kids there, so that we could enjoy our dinner. It was beautiful. We were in Germany, not far from Dortmund. The children were young, and when we went over there, was no Canadian schools. So there was three of our four children of school age, and they went to German schools. So, by the time that the Canadian schools were set up, they could speak quite a bit of German, you see. Quite nice.

Description

Mr. McKerracher speaks about his opportunity to bring his family to Germany during his Regular Force service and the positive experience this was for his children.

Neil McKerracher

Mr. McKerracher was born in Saskatchewan, on January 15, 1923. Nineteen-years-old, and eager for adventure, he moved to Ontario and decided to join the army. He became a member of the anti-aircraft regiment, and after receiving basic training in Petawawa, Ontario, he was shipped overseas. He served with coastal defence in Colchester, England. Mr. McKerracher was married in England during the Second World War. Post-war, he and his wife moved to Calgary, Alberta, where they raised their four children. Having no appetite for civilian life, Mr. McKerracher was eager to enlist for the Korean War. During his service in Korea, he was wounded by a mortar fragment, yet continued to serve in battle, holding the rank of Captain. Military life being his passion, Mr. McKerracher joined the Regular Force after his service in Korea. In 1953, he accepted a deployment to Germany, and lived there with his family for two years before returning to Canada. Mr. McKerracher retired from service life in 1978.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:31
Person Interviewed:: Neil McKerracher
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Battle/Campaign:: Germany, The Berlin Series
Branch:: Army

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Bringing his Family to Germany

Heroes Remember