His Last Battle

Heroes Remember

His Last Battle

Transcript

We attacked again at night. I remember when we were attacking at this little town of Xanten we had to cross a canal. It wasn't too wide I don't think, I don't remember how deep it was or anything. But anyway I didn't want to walk, wade across or swim across so there was a fence going across. So I crawled this fence barbwire fence. Well then got nicely halfway across and half a dozen guys had the same idea so we tore the fence apart and we all went for a bath. We got out of that one and kept on going and we come to this farm house. I remember a little Frenchman, Bourgeois was his name, come to this barn. I open the door and he stood there with his Bren, pulled the trigger and go no fire pull it back, no fire. It wouldn't fire. "Oh the hell with it." he says. I close the door, dug a slit trench, with water it. The next day, morning, got up and both of us went to this barn and it was full of cattle. "Go try your gun" I said. He goes and try it. Bup, bup, bup, bup, bup. I don't know why but something said, something said no to him I guess, not to, gun wouldn't go off. And I remember that. I remember the battle that day that took place, I was up, two floors up. And I watched the Canadian Army attack. It looked like ants, it looked like the whole Canadian Army. And I watched the whole battle from there and it went right to the Rhine. That was my last day, I came home from there.

Description

Mr. Letendre recalls his last battle, near a small town in Germany.

Hugh Victor Letendre

Mr. Letendre was born on March 4, 1925 in the small hamlet of Lac Ste-Anne, Alberta. As a Métis, he grew up speaking Cree, French and English. He came from a large family with one brother and eight sisters. His father was a trapper and did a lot of commercial fishing. Mr. Letendre learned how to hunt and fish from his father.

When he was 11 years old he became the janitor for the one-room school that he also attended as a student. He would sweep the floors, make the fire in the morning, and haul water and coal. For all that, he was paid $4.00 a month which he gave back to his family because they had very little money at the time.

He enlisted at the age of 18 and served during the Second World War as a rifleman with the Calgary Highlanders. His overseas deployment included time serving in the Normandy Campaign after D-Day. After the war he became a leader of Canada's Aboriginal Veterans Association.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:44
Person Interviewed:: Hugh Victor Letendre
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Germany
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Calgary Highlanders
Occupation:: Rifleman

Related Videos

From the Coal Mine to the War Front

Mr. Letendre recalls leaving work in an Alberta coal mine and enlisting in the Canadian Army.

From Canada to England to France

In the Spring of 1944, the Empress of Scotland sailed from Halifax with 15,000 members of the Canadian Army on board, including Mr. Letendre. He recalls having no strong feelings on leaving Canada for England. Once there, he quickly finds himself heading for France.

Heavy Losses at Caen

Mr. Letendre was assigned as reinforcement to "B" Company of the Calgary Highlanders in the midst of the battle for the city of Caen. He recalls the casualties on the first night of battle and reflects on being one of only six men in his company who survived the fighting that night.

Dieppe Liberated

In late Summer of 1944, the Canadian Army was back in the city of Dieppe. Mr. Letendre recalls the taking of the French city by the Canadian troops and remembers some of his other activities along the coastal region of France.

Injured by a Potato Masher

Injuries to his face and hands, the result of a thrown "potato masher," put Mr. Letendre in an England hospital for about ten days. Then, following a two-week leave, he found himself on the way back to the action in France.

Illness Sends Him Home To Canada

Sent home with pleurisy, Mr. Letendre spends several months at the Colonel Belcher Hospital in Calgary. The war in the Pacific is still in progress when he's released from hospital and he decides he should be there. The army, for health reasons, decides otherwise. Following his discharge, he went home to visit his parents.

Life after the War

Mr. Letendre, at one time, the leader of Canada's Aboriginal Veterans Association reflects on how his wartime experience affected him during his life following his service.

Date modified:: 2019-06-20