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Awaiting the War

Heroes Remember

Awaiting the War

Transcript
I can remember being in high school, like, I played football, I had a good time, chased girls, all the rest, but as the war wore on, fewer and fewer guys were there to play football. They all signed up, soon as they got to be eighteen years of age they were gone. And so when it came to play senior football there wasn't any team to play with. I played four years junior because, we, we finally had a composite team, I think the last year, but the, the senior team sort of, there weren't enough, and, and we took a lot of casualties in that school, mostly in the Air Force. I think our first casualty was a Navy guy, but my sister's, or my wife's brother was killed in the Navy. He was torpedoed in Valleyfield and killed. He, he died there, and, but the, most of the pictures that were posted, of the casualties, when I was there, were Air Force, cause the Air Force fought the war from the beginning. My dad made me get out of the Sea Cadets because my marks were failing. My marks were going down at school and so he pulled me out but then he, he got all ambitious and wanted to join. Well I said, "You know," I said, "you know how I feel." "Yeah, I know, I know how you feel and you, and, and so if you feel that way then how do you think I feel?" So we both joined together. And funnily enough I was promoted before he was, because he became an officer but, but I, they pulled me out and made me a bombardier almost right away because I could, I knew all the drills from the Sea Cadets. So you know they said, "Does anybody come out here, and can teach these fellas how to draw?" I said, "Sure."
Description

Mr. Field talks about people in high school enlisting, and describes he and his father enlisting in 1943.

Richard (Dick) Field

Mr. Richard Field was born in Toronto, Ontario, on November 11, 1924, where his father was an accountant for Brazilian Traction Light and Car Power Company located in Toronto. After hearing stories from his grandfather and friends about the service, Mr. Field and his father enlisted in 1943. Serving as a Gunner in the Royal Canadian Artillery, Mr. Field went to the continent after the summer of 1944, and landed at Dieppe. Having witnessed battles such as the Battle of the Bulge, which was, on record, the coldest battle fought during the Second World War, encounters with German POWS and the German SS, nothing stirs up memories such as the moving story about the Highland Light Infantry returning from battle, wearily marching on to battle, serenaded by the haunting melody of the bagpipes. Mr. Field returned home to Toronto and married his high school sweetheart, however, the war never left the dreams and thoughts of Mr. Field, who still, quite frequently, is plagued by dreams and nightmares of life on the front.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
02:07
Person Interviewed:
Richard (Dick) Field
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
Canada
Battle/Campaign:
Northwest Europe
Branch:
Army
Occupation:
Gunner

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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