Nightmares

Heroes Remember

Nightmares

Transcript

When we first went in the, to check out the strength of the enemy it seemed like it was kind of a suicide deal as far as I could see, but I guess the people that were running the thing had different, different thoughts on it. The average soldier, they thought for sure that was just a suicide thing, but I can see now their reasoning. Why they done this thing. I don't know, they waited out in the bay for two or three days before they actually went in to the, head for France. So therefore the Germans knew exactly where they were and what they were doing and everything. But they were, I think they were just checking out to see how strong they were. But when I first went in, we went into this beach and they told us, “If somebody gets shot right beside you, don't stop, keep running.” So I was running on top of dead guys and guys crying and screaming for help. Just don't stop, go. So that's the way we made the land. I saw a man getting his head blown off and he still run for maybe, I don't know, quite a ways. Blood coming straight up, no head. He was still running. You just shut everything out and just run. You don't stop or look much, you just keep your focus ahead and keep going. You don't, don't slow down or nothing. The guy went in to reinforce the Dieppe, the people who were in Dieppe, to help get them back up to strength. Then the first day in action we worked, there's twelve in a section. There was only four of us left. The first skirmish we got into, so that just left four of us to do the work of the twelve on to, pretty well through the whole thing, like. They couldn't get nobody to help us, like. Nobody trained for engineers or stuff. Well, that was okay. From then on, I wiped pretty well everything out that goes from there.

Description

Mr. Toney describes the lingering emotional scars left by his military service and a unique way of coping with bad memories when they start to overwhelm him.

John Martin Toney

John Martin Toney was born on September 26, 1923 on the Neskonlith Reserve, British Columbia. The strongest influence in his life was his grandfather, who taught him spirituality, life and survival skills. Mr. Toney feels that at that time he was being groomed to become a Chief. By the age of eight, he was hunting game to help feed his family. He later worked at a ranch and then as a carpenter. Proud to enlist, the army’s restrictive criteria forced Mr. Toney to renounce his Aboriginal heritage and designate himself an Irish Catholic. He was accepted by the Seaforth Highlanders, Engineering Corps, based on his success at demolition. His first action saw him in the second wave at Dieppe where he witnessed much death and suffering. Agile in the field, he hand-picked and led many reconnaissance and demolition patrols against the Germans. Mr. Toney was wounded twice, and after his second recovery, finished the war as motorcycle dispatch rider. He then signed up for Pacific duty, returning home early

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