Day after the bombing raid

Heroes Remember

Day after the bombing raid

Transcript

But, the funny part was that, you know, at, when it was the next day, when it came light, all the tanks were all black from being hit, and the house and the barn that were on the other corner were completely gone, and the trees on this corner were kindling wood, and not a shell hit us. Not a bomb hit us. Right on that intersection. The, the bombs that were just sort of floating by us and landing you know, maybe 25, 50, 100 yards just beyond us. Never got hit, it was amazing. We had a blue, a red cross up, but by that time it didn't mean anything because there was so much smoke. You're not afraid really, because you have a job to do. It's only after that you start getting scared. You know, at the time you are just, you're too busy to think about it, you know and it's only after that you think, what a fool, you know, you know. But that's the, that's the way with the infantry, the same way, you know, it's not me that is gonna get hit, you know. Interviewer: It's the other guy. Yeah, it's the other guy, yeah. We didn't have Penicillin at this particular time, we had it just a, several months later, but we didn't have it then. It only came in, well in ‘42 was when it was discovered, but it, it wasn't in, in use at that time, we did, I would think, oh, about 6 months later, we did get Penicillin in vials, for injection, but we didn't have it at that time. We would have, we would have Staph or some antibiotics... Interviewer: You mean Sulfa? Sulfa drugs. That's what, that's it, not antibiotics, sulfa drugs we had at that time, which we would use to treat wounds and so on, and morphine and things like that. We would patch them up and, and send them back, or send them back to their unit. One or the other, and we would, depending on how serious they were, where we would send them back.

Description

Mr. Weicker talks about the day after the bombing raid, he reflects on the notion of fear, and he talks about what drugs and medicines they used.

John Joseph Weicker

John Joseph Weicker was born on November 17, 1920, in Duncan, British Columbia. Mr. Weicker attended Duncan High School and completed his first year of university there as well. He attended Gonzaga University for his second year and returned to Victoria, BC, in 1941 to work at St. Joseph's Hospital as an apprentice pharmacist. Mr. Weicker got a call to join the army, however, was given an exemption because there was a requirement of four years apprenticeship before he could write the pharmacist exam. The Pharmacy Association allowed him to do one year apprenticeship and the other three years would be served while he was in the army. He was exempted until August. From there he did basic training in Vernon and at the Camp Borden Medical Training Centre. He was then sent to Chilliwack Military Hospital. While there he volunteered to go overseas. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Weicker was sent to Vancouver to Hastings Park where a unit was forming, 12th Field Dressing Station. In May 1942 his unit was sent overseas to Northern Scotland, and was eventually assigned to the 4th Armoured Division. There was no call for an apprentice pharmacist so Mr. Weicker was listed as a nursing orderly. On D-Day he crossed the Strait of Dover and made his way to Juno Beach. From there he went on to Falaise, Normandy. After the war ended he crossed the Rhine to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. After leaving the Army, Mr. Weicker completed pharmacy school and passed his pharmacy exams in 1947.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:19
Person Interviewed:: John Joseph Weicker
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: France
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: 4th Armoured Division
Occupation:: Nursing Orderly

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Day after the bombing raid

Heroes Remember