Best and Worst Moments

Heroes Remember

Best and Worst Moments

Transcript

When I was liberated, that was about the best time. You know you never miss anything until you’re locked up or a prisoner. I had a good example when I came back working for a while in Calgary and I got a call down to the General Hayes building and it was mean income tax people. There was a little Englishman behind the desk and as soon as I walked in there he said, “I’m putting you in jail, you’re going to…” I forget the name of that jail there. “You haven’t paid your income taxes, you’re behind $1200.” I said, “You can put me in jail, it doesn’t matter, I’ve been in better jails than that.” And I made a deal with the Winnipeg, I wrote a letter and had paying three installments and I guess he never got the information. But the very little guy, he’s going to do this. And I had a little chuckle to myself and I said, “You go ahead, put me in.” Interviewer: And looking back during that time what about some of the worst moments, I can guess, but tell us what some of your worst times were? You know, It’s the dirty, you’re used to being a farm boy, clean all the time and we’d be so dirty we had English sweaters and when we took those sweaters off you could run your fingers down and leave a trail of blood from these lice sucking it out of you. The dirt and the bed bugs, that’s another thing too. And then to see the men, they just died from starvation, you know, the older prisoners that had been there.

Description

Mr. Couture shares some memories of his time as a POW.

George Couture

Mr. George Couture was born in Pennsylvania, United States on November 5, 1924. At three years of age his widowed mother moved the family of five children to Selkirk, Manitoba at a time when Canada was experiencing the Great Depression. Signing up to serve his country, Mr. Couture tried two times and on his third attempt joined the infantry with the Winnipeg Rifles. He traveled overseas on Isle de France and through coincidence this was the same ship he returned home on after the war. Mr. Couture volunteered for service which resulted in him being part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, then on June 8th was captured as POW. Spending time in the prisoner of war camps and suffering the life of starvation and disease, Mr. Couture survived and was liberated on April 23, 1945. Returning home to Winnipeg, Mr. Couture continued to serve in the military and volunteered for the Korean War. After thirty years military service he retired from the Canadian military. He now resides in Calgary, Alberta.

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