Becoming A Paratrooper

Heroes Remember

Becoming A Paratrooper

Transcript

Well, when I was a teenager, 15 or 16 years of age, I was very much taken up by the Royal Canadian Navy. And I had applied for, I submitted my application for, for joining the Canadian Navy. At that time it was necessary to join for seven years and in the winter of '40, '40-'41 I was . . . or, pardon me, in the winter of '39-'40 I was called up and advised to report to Halifax for various examinations at Stadacona. And I might mention at this time, that at that time Stadacona consisted of what is now known as the Admirals Building. And it was pretty . .it was a very, very small unit in Halifax. But then I was sent to Esquimalt on the outskirts of British Columbia., and after numerous examinations they discovered that I had a weak left eye, and they told me that it was impossible for me to be a permanent RCN sailor, so . . . however, I could join the RCNVR, which was the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, and I said no. I had my heart set on joining the permanent navy and . . . however, to make a long story short, they sent me back to Halifax and gave me a bit of money, and wished me well and sent me on my way. Then, of course, after that it was always in my mind to join the, one of the services, so in December of 1940, I joined the 6th Anti-aircraft Battery, a unit that, a unit chiefly from Yarmouth, Yarmouth County and so on. And, so I, I joined that unit. And we were on outpost duty around the perimeter of Halifax Harbour. I guess at that time, possibly, I was one of the senior members of the union, unit and eventually made sergeant, and I was an outpost commander. An outpost consisted of from 30 to 40 gunners and lance-bombardiers, and bombardiers and a sergeant at the head. And while I was there I noticed an advertisement for recruits to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and I immediately submitted my application, myself and another fellow from the unit. And we were both accepted, and we then proceeded to Winnipeg where we underwent various rigorous, very rigorous examinations, and we were both fortunate enough to pass all of the examinations. And from there we went on to Shilo, where we took our parachute training. And at that time, it was also necessary to, when you were taking your training and when it reached the jump stage, it was necessary for you to pack your own chute. So, if the chute didn't open, you had no one to blame but yourself.

Description

Despite being turned down by the Navy due to a weak left eye, Mr. Melanson persevered. He tells us about the path that led him to becoming a paratrooper.

Russel C Melanson Sr.

Mr. Melanson was born in Mill Village, Nova Scotia, on August 16, 1922. He worked on a farm and in the woods, and completed his education before his first attempt to enlist. He was turned down by the navy as he was underage. Similarly, after joining the West Novies, an artillery regiment, he was discharged for being underage. He was finally accepted into the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and completed his basic training in Shilo, Manitoba. Once overseas, he was attached to the 3rd Brigade, 6th Airborne Division. Mr. Melanson's first action was at the Battle of the Bulge. His second was the Allied /Russian advance into Germany from the east. After leaving the army, Mr. Melanson became a hydrographer, and retired as the Regional Hydrographer, Bedford Institute of Oceanography.

Meta Data