Weather Conditions & Arriving Overseas

Heroes Remember

Weather Conditions & Arriving Overseas

Interviewer: So what's your impression of the equipment you have on with you now? To protect yourself, to do what you have to do, while your travelling over to go to war. Do you feel you are sufficient? Well we knew that there was another boat coming, not at the same time but a week later or so, or two or three weeks later. And that was bringing in machine guns and it was our transport really and they got way laid in Manilla and for some reason or other they, if it was the war that started that they didn't get there, but they were to get off some other place other then Manilla. So that kind of curtailed our movement a lot during the fight, although there was mountains but there were roads through the mountains. Interviewer: And what do you remember about the conditions, the weather conditions? In the summer, in the winter time, this is winter time and it gets, you know, maybe 40 degrees. But we were, the problem with it, we were soaking wet so much,rain, rain, rain, and we were in our heavy uniforms, no summer uniforms at that time. That was a bad part; keeping our rifles and automatic guns dry, it was a, it was a problem.

Mr. McGee describes how hot it was arriving overseas and the problems they had keeping their guns dry.

John McGee

Mr. John McGee was born in Saskatchewan, on May 3, 1923, and comes from a family of two brothers and three sisters. He now resides in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and family. Mr. McGee joined the army and left for wartime service with a group of thirteen men. Although very excited to be going overseas, he recalls the sight of seeing young men jumping overboard when the ship began to sail; the fear of the unknown was causing many to turn back and stay at home! Mr. McGee was determined to go and serve his country. Mr. McGee shares with us his personal experience of being captured as a Hong Kong prisoner of war (POW) and hardships he endured at the camp. He considers himself very fortunate to be alive today, as many of his friends were left behind. After six years of serving in the army, Mr. McGee returned home to be what he terms an "Entrepreneur" buying a few hotels and later on getting into the sales business. Civilian life was a very positive outcome for a soldier who had endured such hard times and poor health during his time in the prisoner of war camps.