Hope for the Best
Heroes Remember
Hope for the Best
Transcript
We was, we were fast asleep at four o'clock. And all of a sudden,
there was shaking my cot, "Come on here! Bloody well get up!" And
now we're getting ready for D-Day. And we're... hour after that
we was in a plane flying over for D-Day. It took us to the
Aerodrome, what they called it, back then. Oh, then round about
an hour we took off, and then this said, "This is the captain
speaking." He told us we were going to do a drop in the middle of
the enemy. It was a bit scary.
Interviewer: So, they, you knew then that you were going to jump
behind the lines in the middle of the enemy? (We sure did.)
Interviewer: Tell me about the jump. How did that go?
It went good. It went very, very good. Because we caught the
enemy off guard. That was the main thing. They, we got there...
They didn't even know we was on the way, but they soon got to
to know that when we started firing.
Interviewer: And, so what happened then, when you started firing,
when you landed? Tell me what happened once you landed, and what
happened then.
Well, we waited ‘til we'd all landed. We was under the cover
(inaudible) a lieutenant, he said, "This is it boys. We're
walking into the enemy. In an hour's time, we'll be in, in the
middle of the enemy." And it was a bit scary.
Interviewer: And, so, what did you have to do?
Well, we cocked, put bullets in the rifle, and hoped for the
best. And we marched and trotted towards the enemy, and all of a
sudden, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" I'll always remember.
Interviewer: You were surrounded.
Yeah, we were surrounded. But the Americans were there, got there
with their big tanks, and they blasted the way in for us to get
out. They took us to some building. I think it was some church
building, and then they told us what we're gonna do. We was
We was getting in the Kangaroo tanks. A Kangaroo tank is, well,
loaded up with soldiers, a dozen soldiers. It didn't take us long
to take the village from the Germans. It was a small town.
Lavonne (sp), I think it was.
Interviewer: And, tell me about your second jump. You had a
second jump in action. (Oh, yeah.)
Interviewer: Tell me about that jump.
Well, it, it, it was scary as hell, and... Landed in a place
called... I couldn't probably pronounce it properly...
Lavonne. Does Lavonne ring a bell?
Interviewer: Yeah, yeah... And there was a swamp somewhere?
Didn't you land in a swamp? Do you remember?
Oh, yeah. We landed in... It was sewage water. Did a little
bit of smelling.
Interviewer: That was your second jump. You landed in the, in
the, in the water, the sewage water... Yeah, yeah.
Interviewer: And what was that like, what happened?
Well, it was a bit scary. Anyway, we did a bit of firing, and
that quieted the enemy right down. They surrendered. I'll always
remember that they surrendered. We could see the, their
white flags going up.
Interviewer: And, and what about when you got wounded? You got
shot once. (In my neck.) Interviewer: How did that happen?
Well, I, I was... We was advancing, and the Germans wasn't too
far away, and they was firing at us. And I, I got a bullet, went
shttt. It didn't go in. It skinned me. Been here, it would have
been probably "good-bye".
Interviewer: Did a lot of your friends... Did you lose a lot of
your friends?
Yes, a lot. On D-Day, we lost quite a few boys, and there was a
lot of Canadians there, too, got, got wounded and shot.
We'll never forget.
Description
Mr. Wright reflects on his two combat jumps and very close call with a German bullet.
Norm Wright
Mr. Wright was born in Scafford, England in 1923. He was one of 10 children. His father was a farmer which helped ease his family's circumstances during the depression. Mr. Wright was his family's fourth son to enter the Armed Forces; he volunteered to join the paratroopers, and trained with the 13th Paratroop Battalion. His major action, as a member of the 29th Paratroop Battalion, saw him jump behind German lines at Normandy during the D-Day invasion. He was fortunate to survive a neck wound while in action. Despite suffering from Alzheimers disease, Mr. Wright offers a charming glimpse of his military service. He now resides in Harriston, Ontario.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 04:34
- Person Interviewed:
- Norm Wright
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- D-Day
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- 29th Paratroop Battalion
- Rank:
- Private
- Occupation:
- Paratrooper
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