Obtaining Additional Rations

I myself was on the invasion of the island of Port Cros and the island of Levant they put two regiments on that and one on Port Cros because it was a smaller island. And we had rations for two days and it took us almost four days to get off so they had a hungry bunch. We were put in a bit of a camp near the highway and there was a sandy beach back in a little ways and we saw when we went in on our relief boat that there were a lot of rations being unloaded there and we didn’t have any rations so we decided to go get some. The Americans had what they called 5 in 1 rations which were 5 men’s rations for a day or 10 to1 which was 10 men’s rations for a day. We each grabbed a box of rations and somebody started yelling from another, there was some MP’s on board one of the other boats. So rather than take off down the road, we took off into the bush. Well, that was fine and dandy except the bush was mined. But fortunately the Jerry’s figured you were going to come in at night and you could see the mines alright but it was scary to try and make sure we got through. We got through the bush and it just happened there was a big army truck coming by and we flagged him down and we got back to the camp with the rations anyhow. Well that’s why they called us the Black Devils!

Mr. Summersides remembers “borrowing” a few boxes of rations from an American ship that was being unloaded and high tailing it for the nearest bushes.

Jim Summersides

Mr. Jim Summersides was born in Welland, Ontario, a town where he has lived all his life. As a young man, he recalls that peer pressure played a role in his joining the army. After enrolling, Mr. Summersides volunteered for the First Special Service Force, a unique joint Canadian- American effort that snuck behind German artillery lines creating havoc for the enemy. Mr. Summersides, along with fellow Canadian comrades, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from the American Congress for his rare and profound contribution to the war effort. After the force broke up, he joined the 48th Highlanders and finished the war with that regiment. Mr. Summersides is very proud of his service during the Second World War and has had the pleasure of returning to Holland as part of the Canadian delegation for anniversary events.