Message From the Cardinal

Heroes Remember

Message From the Cardinal

Transcript

Then we got word they were on the move and it was about a week before D-Day that we were down in and around Plymouth in a convoy there was 11 of us in a truck, in trucks, just sitting waiting. And then one day, everybody was, got together and there was kind of an area, you picture a big bowl and there was people sitting all around, there was, they said afterwards, there were 6,000 soldiers, airmen at, there and there’s Air Marshall Mountbatten, Louis Mountbatten was there, Cardinal Spellman was there, Eisenhower’s aide, two, two of his Generals were there, Bradley and, and what they were doing, they were talking to us about what to expect when we went into France, what to look for, and each one spoke. And I always remember the Cardinal. He ended up his speech with, “Fellas,” he says, “You get over there, keep your pecker in your pants.” God, dead silence and everybody just whooped and hollered at what he said. The Cardinal, Prince of the Church going on with... that was something.

Description

Before leaving England for France the troops gather to listen to some speeches from their superiors. Mr. Abdallah talks about these speeches and the Cardinal’s humourous closing remarks.

Wilf Abdallah

Mr. Abdallah was born in London, Ontario, in 1923. His father immigrated from Lebanon to the United States at the age of 12 and eventually ended up in London, Ontario, where he was a candy maker and owned a few stores in the area. In 1936 the family moved to Petrolia and then on to Sarnia. Mr Abdallah attended high school in Sarnia before moving back to London in 1939-40. After lying about his age Mr. Abdallah joined the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was seventeen. He went to Toronto for three weeks training at Manning Depot before going to Paulson, Manitoba, to complete his training. In March of 1944 he sailed on the Louis Pasteur to Bournemouth, England, where he was stationed with 129 Airfield. Mr. Abdallah worked with the tactical air force, building airfields and then joined the air force’s return salvage unit. He moved through France, Belgium and Holland recovering aircraft to be repaired or stripped for parts. When Mr. Abdallah returned to Canada after the war he went back to live the rest of his life in London, Ontario.

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