Italian Campaign

Heroes Remember

Italian Campaign

Transcript

Well they were, ah, the Germans, see the Italians, put it this way, the Italians didn't want to fight no more, to me, that was our feeling eh. And we became very good friends with the Italians. Now they might have had some regiments that wanted to, but they were like the Nazis anyways, you see, Mussolini and that. But we found the, if you got up against them and that they, it wasn't too long and they were gone because they just didn't want to fight. Now the Germans were different, especially the SS and that, they, they didn't want to move. You were gonna pay a debt, you were gonna pay for it if they moved at all, you know. They were, they were good fighters, they were hard, they just didn't. And they had the equipment too, I must say that and, but they, they were just stubborn. So then we became stubborn too.

Description

Mr. Colbourne talks about fighting in Italy

Gerald Colbourne

Mr. Colbourne was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, in 1924 but at the age of one his family moved to Corner Brook, Newfoundland, so his father could work in the mills. Mr. Colbourne enjoyed growing up in Corner Brook where he went to school and played hockey and basketball. When not in school he enjoyed fishing and hunting. In March 1944, he joined the Infantry branch of the Army and was sent overseas a short time later. He arrived in London for his first look at war and then moved on to join his regiment in Italy and worked from Italy through to Holland and Germany until the war ended.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:18
Person Interviewed:: Gerald Colbourne
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Italy
Battle/Campaign:: Italian
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Ontario Regiment
Occupation:: Infantry

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03