Darkness Comes Early (Part 2 of 3)

Heroes Remember

Darkness Comes Early (Part 2 of 3)

Transcript

Now I’m mad, I’m upset, I have absolutely no clues where I am and where I am going see, and I’m leading thirty-seven, thirty-five men down a place where I don’t know. So, we arrive closer to our route, if you look over the map of the Dittaino Valley, in the Canadian in Italy map, you will see that there’s a curve there. And we arrived there, Bernatia has got a carrier, a carrier detachment as an advance reconnaissance group watching his own perimeter and there it, and I don’t know them. When I’m intercepted, I don’t know whether they are enemy or whether they are Vandoos. If Bernatia in his briefing told me that he had somebody down the road, or down the gap, then I would have anticipated it but my mind was so upset getting this mission on, in the dark, on a dark area, with no preparation whatsoever, you know, if I had gone in the afternoon and saw the ground, I would have had a better idea where I was going. So I was going blind, that’s why the platoon was large, because if it was larger, you should be able to, to save a few, you see.

Description

Mr. Robitaille tells the story of his reconnaissance mission at Santa Maria.

Guy Robitaille

Guy Robitaille was born October 2, 1920 in Lauzon-Lévis, a small military town. Mr. Robitaille had four brothers and three sisters. His mother died in 1925 and his father died in 1936. After his father's death, Mr. Robitaille made the decision not to finish school, but rather to work and help his family. On August 26, 1936 he received his mobilization papers and started full time with the army. Shortly after, he transferred to the Vandoos training centre. In August, 1941, he arrived in Brockville, Ontario where he became an officer and later returned to Valcartier. In Italy, wounded in the thigh and chest, Mr. Robitaille spent nine months in hospital where he went through five operations. While in hospital he heard on CBC radio that he had received the Military Cross. In November, 1943, he returned to Canada to recover in a Québec City hospital. Upon recovery, he returned to service with the Canadian Army.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:56
Person Interviewed:: Guy Robitaille
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Battle/Campaign:: Italian
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal 22^e Régiment
Rank:: Platoon Officer
Occupation:: Intelligence

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Darkness Comes Early (Part 2 of 3)

Heroes Remember