Blamed for Shooting an Officer and Taking his Revolver

Heroes Remember

Blamed for Shooting an Officer and Taking his Revolver

Transcript

I was putting down some beds, and another guy come in. It was our buglar, Sergeant Major. He had a bullet here, there. Anyway they put him on the bed and brought me over, strapped down his hands on both sides and the doctor went and he got the bullet down in the jaw here and anyway after awhile started putting down some more beds and another fellow come in. It was Chubby Powers, and he had shrapnel in the legs here and anyway they took his revolver off and threw it out the window. Me, I didn’t wait until they closed the window. I jumped out the window and I picked up the revolver and I started. There was fellows out there with their arms off there and some of them moaning, I got through and passed down behind the prison and behind the prison there was all little stalls like where you put horses and things in, you know. They had ducks in there and geese and I come to a last little place there was little pigs, guinea pigs they call that, “Oink ,oink!!” I was ready to shoot, I thought it was a Jap, anyway from there I got up behind the prison up through the woods and after I got up the hill there, I could see them where they was and there was all around a cliff of rocks there about maybe 10-20 feet high, there was all around. Anyway, I says, “I’m coming in.” He says, “Who is that?” I says, “Arnold Hunt.” He says, “What’s your number?” “E29864." “What Regiment?” “The Royal Rifles.” “What Company?” I says, “D Company.” He says, “Come in with your hands up.” It was Sergeant MacDonald. “Goddamn son of a whore. You shot our officer and you took his revolver,” I says, “No, no, calm down now and I’ll tell you the story.” He says, “No, I’m going to shoot you.” I says, “Calm down, calm down and I’ll tell you the difference.” So anyway there was another officer, you call that? He come over and he says, “Get out of here. They got the big guns right onto us.” So, anyway, we ran over near the big cliff, the rocks there, because there was a part of an opening there. We look and see if we could see any Japs. Anyway, we wouldn’t have been here sitting here today. There was nothing but stumps and rocks flying.

Description

Mr. Hunt describes re-arming himself with the discarded pistol of a wounded officer and almost being shot for treason.

Arnold Joseph Hunt

Arnold Joseph Hunt was born in 1910 in the village of Pabos on the Gaspe Peninsula, Quebec. He was the eldest son in a family of 16. His father was a river guide, and as a boy Mr. Hunt would carry provisions upriver to the fishing camp for his father. He also worked cutting pulp and cooking in a lumber camp, earning 50 cents a day. Mr. Hunt enlisted with a French regiment, but transferred to the Royal Rifles, one of three brothers to do so. He describes his captivity and in particular the severe beatings he endured, as well as other brutality that he witnessed. He also describes a desperate effort to save a friend. Mr. Hunt questions both the Hong Kong deployment and Canada’s commitment to its Hong Kong Veterans.

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