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Mutt and Jeff

Heroes Remember

Mutt and Jeff

Transcript
One fella, he's . . . he didn't live too far from here. He was about 6' 4". I don't know if you would probably remember or not. There use to be a couple in the funny paper; Mutt and Jeff. One big tall fella and a short fella. That's what they used to call us. I used to say, he could look over the top of the hedges and I could look under them. But he was a great buddy. Interviewer: Did he survive like yourself? He did . . . and he was cool. Nothing seemed to bother him. I seen him one time we was in this garden and they had this bunch of bushes like it was made just like a tent. On the stem of the trees, branches of a bunch of trees and down the middle and you could walk right in around there and even the doorway was made like a tent. And we had . . . we used to get these rations and we would get all the meals ready and he'd get supper ready. We just . . . we had these cans there, tins cans our hardtack used to come in. We'd of course warm our stew in that. One for tea or hot water, one for stew. We'd just dig a hole in the ground, pour some gasoline in it, light it and that's what we'd put our can over it and that's how we used to heat it and and he'd finished dishing the meals out to the rest of us and he sat down on the rocks underneath there and just started to eat his own supper and the machine gun, fellow opened up with a machine gun, and I could see leaves popping all around him, just like something you'd see in a comedy. He never bothered a bit. He got up, picked his mess tent up, strolled up and got in the trench with me and our trench was right in front of the door, I could see good. Put the mess tent down on the bag, started eating. Never said a word. Next night the same thing happened. And he . . . the same thing, picked his mess tent up strolled out and got the thing and put it down. In a little while you hear him, "Ignorant bastards," he said "won't even let a fella eat his supper in peace."
Description

Mr. Gouchie tells a humorous story of his friend trying to eat his supper.

Earl Gouchie

Mr. Gouchie was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, on February 21, 1917. He comes from a family of four sisters and three brothers. His father was a part-time farmer and mill worker. Growing up during the depression and having a Grade eight level of education, Mr. Gouchie had very little opportunity for employment and worked in the local lumber woods until he decided to join the army. After the declaration of war, Mr. Gouchie was one of the first men to join the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. His regiment sailed to Southern England and received three years of training in preparation for the landings on D-Day in Normandy. The North Nova Scotia Highlanders have been recorded as being known to have fought many bloody battles during wartime. Mr. Gouchie was part of the 2nd wave during the D-Day invasion and admits he would never want to go through it again. After the war, Mr. Gouchie returned home to Amherst to be with his wife and family. He became very involved with the construction of a mural recognizing the contributions of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment. Mr. Gouchie coordinates the parades each year for Remembrance Day celebrations in Amherst. He has never allowed his service in the army to be forgotten and the contributions given by himself and his fellow soldiers. Mr. Gouchie feels the young people of today should experience army life and realize the true meaning of discipline.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
2:01
Person Interviewed:
Earl Gouchie
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
France
Battle/Campaign:
Normandy
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
North Nova Scotia Highlanders

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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