Every Person Was Important to the Victory

I never regret one minute I spent in the service, Canadian service. But I have one wish, that nobody else has to do it. That’s been my philosophy. I mean, I stuck my neck out, I was lucky. If I would have been in the infantry, I probably wouldn’t be here today but this is, everybody has their job. Everybody, no matter what he did, I don’t care how far behind the line. Everybody done something that helped you and helped the infantry. If the guy behind you who was supposed to bring us ammunition and didn’t bring it, or if the infantry didn’t get their ammunition. Every man, no matter how far back he did, "well this guy was just in the ordnance” well he was still doing a job. Everybody can’t be up on the front. And for the fellows who joined up in the infantry, just like me when I joined the artillery. I didn’t know what the hell I was getting into. But the infantry seemed to be the main thing and the local thing’s been there for years and people were in it. But I don’t never regret what I did. I don’t think I was any braver than anybody, but the infantry guys, I gotta give them a lot of credit because they deserve a hell of a lot more than I got.

Mr. Rogers gives great credit to the work of the infantry. He goes on to make the point that every person involved in the war effort made an important contribution to the Allied victory.

Frederick Rogers

Mr. Rogers was an infant when his father died as a result of gas poisoning during his service in the First World War. His mother brought him and his only sister to Canada when he was about two years old. Mr. Rogers joined the Essex Regiment Tank (militia) in Windsor, Ontario when he was 14 or 15 years old. He went on to complete Grade 10 and at the age of 16 went to work on a farm to support himself. He enlisted in the Canadian Army on February 18, 1941. Basic training was provided in Kitchener, Ontario and he was then sent to Camp Petawawa and, finally, to Sussex, New Brunswick to join the 12th Field regiment as a replacement. The regiment arrived in Liverpool, England on July 31, 1941 and were immediately taken by train to Bramshot, England.