Return Home to Canada
Heroes Remember
Return Home to Canada
Interviewer: The extent of your injuries,
Mr. Finestone, what were they?
Well, in military parlance, L-5. Your PULHEMS,
your medical conditions, ears, eyes,
nose, throat, and so on and legs.
And there was, you're scored from 1-5.
Five is as low as you can go.
I was L-5 big.
Interviewer: So you went back to Canada,
roughly when did you return?
Ah, beginning of August.
Interviewer: Of 1944? Yeah.
Interviewer: Tell me, during that period of time
in your convalescence, you saw your
mother and father again?
When I got back to Canada, sure.
Interviewer: What was their reaction
when they saw you?
My father had turned white.
His hair had all turned white and
within six months of my coming back,
it turned black again.
It must have been terrible for him.
Interviewer: So he was terribly worried about you?
Well, he got the usual telegram saying that,
“Your son was wounded in action and
his left leg is badly injured.”
And then, they woke up to the fact
that it was my right leg.
So, they sent him another telegram saying that,
“Your son has been wounded in action and
his right leg is badly injured.”
So, he thought I had both my legs gone.
When I got to Montreal,
I was a stretcher case.
But, I persuaded the doctor to let me
get off the train on crutches.
So, when he saw me walking,
he was very relieved.
Do you remember the reaction
of your mother as well?
Well, she was happy to see me, obviously.
Happy that I was out of the war.
She said, “Now you don't have to go back!”
Related Videos
Preparing for War
Mr. Finestone recalls his father’s advice to join the COTC as the war approached.
Joining the Service
Mr. Finestone recalls why he decided to join the service. His Canadian-Jewish background compelled him to go to war.
Training in Canada
Mr. Finestone was a Junior Officer. He describes the training he received and the training he provided in Canada to prepare himself and his men for war.
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