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War is thankless

Heroes Remember

War is thankless

Transcript
The British were defeated, we knew that, because we were sort of attached to the British. The Canadian Corps, you know. We weren’t strong enough to take a position of our own until later on in the years and the Canadian Corps was quite an outfit. And we said, “Well, they’re all from Edmonton,” and there was a lot from Edmonton joined up. We had to be part of a Corps, the whole army. It wasn’t a little five cent deal, this Vimy was - well, we knew that two or three units had gone ahead to try and do a little job or part of the line, was it? Had to be easy, but it wasn’t so easy at all. Later on, we found out that it wasn’t so easy at all. You ate your food, you slept in your line. It is very unhealthy as far as they were concerned, you know, the - we didn’t have a chambermaid, you know, every five minutes. No, I wouldn’t thank anybody going there, sleeping for six months. No. We wondered, quietly to ourselves, “I wonder if we’ll pull out of this ourselves.” We never did mention it to each other about getting out of this mess. The only ones that I thought would think they were victory in the foresight, was the ones who made it, the officers. They were sure of everything, you know, pretty near. But consider the poor old soldier who had to take the punishment, I don’t know. It’s ... I’m not condemning, or anything like that. Everyone was there for doing what they were supposed to be doing. It's thankless. War is thankless.
Description

Mr. Peterson discusses the increasing independence of the Canadian Corps at Vimy, followed by his reflections on the likelihood of survival on the Front.

Robert Peterson

Robert Peterson was born in Edmonton, Alberta on January 7, 1899. He was the eldest son. His father was a paper mill worker, but enlisted at the outbreak of international hostilities in 1914. Despite being repatriated in 1915 due to being wounded, Mr. Peterson’s father did not try to discourage his son from enlisting. Robert Peterson eventually joined the 202 Sportsmans Battalion in Edmonton and describes basic training as little more than “route marching and sore feet”. Aged ninety-nine at the time of his interview, Mr. Peterson still remembers several aspects of his service overseas. He discusses Canada’s maturation as a military force at Vimy, describes being partially blinded in a gas attack, and finishes with a compelling reflection on patriotism.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
3:40
Person Interviewed:
Robert Peterson
War, Conflict or Mission:
First World War
Location/Theatre:
Europe
Battle/Campaign:
Vimy
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Canadian Corps
Occupation:
Infantry

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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