Quite a Feeling Going Overseas!

Heroes Remember

Quite a Feeling Going Overseas!

Transcript

Most of us were sick all the way across. And then, of course, once you get on land, seasickness ends, seems to for some reason. So that was, it was quite a feeling to see England and to come into Liverpool and see all the bombing they had done there the night before. We never thought we’d ever see. We were there during the blitz in London, during the bombing in London for the next two months. And then the troop ships split up. Three troop ships went into Liverpool and the other one went down the Clyde into Glasgow. And we got into Liverpool and the Germans had bombed the harbor the night before. There were ships on the side all through the harbor. They had quite a time getting into the docks. And we got into the docks and the colonel said, “We’re going to stay on the ship all night!” and the captain said, “Get your men off this ship, it’s too dangerous to stay here. They may bomb here again tonight!” And there were no troop ships, no troop trains so we moved out in the mountains outside in the fields outside. We just got in out there and started to bivouac for the night and the troop trains arrived. So we boarded the troop trains and then they told us we were going to Aldershot so about ten o’clock that night up ahead of us the Germans bombed the tracks but they didn’t hit the railroad, they bombed all around it. So we got into Liverpool in the morning and about ten o’clock we went via London and then that was the start of our 5 ½ years in England.

Description

Mr. Chiasson expresses the feelings he had on the journey overseas, the start of what would become their 5 ½ years of war.

Havelyn Chiasson

Mr. Chiasson was born May 14, 1921 in Misquamicut Island, New Brunswick. He attended an English and French school while his father worked as a fisherman. When war was declared in 1939, Mr. Chiasson was recruited to the Carleton York Regiment in Bathurst and later with the North Shore Regiment, a regiment he would remain with until end of wartime. Mr. Chiasson held the position of wireless operator and found himself travelling overseas which would become a 5 ½ year experience. Mr. Chiasson was part of the D-Day and Battle of Normandy landings where he reached the beaches in St. Aubin-sur-Mer, Normandy. He carried on through to Holland. Mr. Chiasson remains very active about his service years, speaking to our youth about the importance of service to our country.

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