Relationships Amongst the Soldiers

Heroes Remember

Relationships Amongst the Soldiers

Transcript

All the soldiers, the Americans and the Canadians all got along good. But the americans had their own army and the blacks had their own army. But there were the white American soldiers, they wouldn't talk to you, they wouldn't talk to a black man at all. But the black, they had their own outfit. That was during the war, yes. Interviewer: Did you ever talk to any of the black American soldiers? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, no problem. Interviewer: Did they ever ask you about the treatment that you received in the Canadian Army? Oh yeah, because they would see us, well they would always see us together and mixed up and they'd say, "How can you guys all, have no problems?" "No."

Description

Mr. Cromwell speaks about the interaction with the american army and how, for the most part, everyone got along.

Everett Sylvester Cromwell

Everett Cromwell was born on December 12, 1921 in Weymouth Falls, Digby Co., Nova Scotia. He was the fifth of ten children. At age twelve, he left school to work in the woods because his father, also a forestry worker, had fallen ill. Both of his parents were soon deceased, and the ten children stayed in the family home supporting one another. Mr.Cromwell supported the family by working for a local farmer and then in the local lumberyard. He enlisted in June, 1941 in the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. After basic training in Halifax, Sherbrooke, and Camp Borden, he sailed aboard the Louis Pasteur to England, arriving on December 23, 1941. Two weeks after the D-day raid, Mr. Cromwell arrived in France with the 2nd Division, Motor Transport. For the duration of the war, his unit was responsible for transporting fuel, food and ammunition to the Front in support of the Allied advance on Germany. After being discharged from the army and returning home, Mr. Cromwell, recently married, reenlisted because it was ‘steady work’. He and his family were to experience institutionalized racism in Halifax, being denied accommodations because of their black heritage. This in contrast to the fact that he felt equal in all respects as a member of the Army. Mr. Cromwell and his wife, Elizabeth, currently reside in Shelburne, Nova Scotia.

Meta Data