Someone will jump on your running board

Heroes Remember

Someone will jump on your running board

Transcript

When they said, "No. 5 Section," you had no use being afraid, if you got it all camouflaged and covered over, at night. Then you have to, like . . . "No. 5 Section?" "Joe, we gotta go." Go take the camouflage off, leave it there and get in the trucks and going. Get ammunition from the ammunition dump and take it to the guns. Everybody did that, everybody that was in the transport section. Not all the soldiers did, but everybody that was in the transport section had to do the same thing. Being in the artillery, you are given spots to fire on, but you don't have any hand to hand fighting, unless you see something there. But you . . . the big guns do the firing. And your gun's sitting back there, no good without the ammunition. So, you have to drive through the woods, no lights on, and stop there. Because when you're driving along, someone will come and jump on your running board, like that. And you're there, sitting there . . .jump on your running board. He's suddenly . . . in here. So, you turn in here, and that takes to his gun. You unload your load and keep on going. There be, they'll be firing away, firing away at the positions that somebody out there with their binoculars looking to see what's happening . . . whether the shell fall, fell. And if it does a good job where it fell he might say, "Fire five more rounds." So, all the other guns then would fire the five rounds and that's how it went along.

Description

Mr. Parsons describes delivering ordinance to gunnery positions in blackout conditions.

Ivan “Benny” Parsons

Ivan Benjamin Parsons was born in Lucasville, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, on February 26, 1922. He was the eldest of 10 children and worked on a local farm. His father was a sawyer at the local saw mill. After finishing basic training in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and Camp Borden, Ontario, Mr. Parsons shipped to England aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth. After training as a truck driver, he took part in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. During his service in Europe, his truck crew delivered ordinance to the artillery. Mr. Parsons returned home early in 1946. After working in the retail business for a short time, he returned to the Army. Mr. Parsons later served with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires for 20 years.

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