I’m Trained to Save

Heroes Remember

I’m Trained to Save

Transcript

Shrapnel wounds, some arms cut off, back, legs pretty well sliced with shrapnel, you know. Some no leg at all. Lots of them, head, they still alive, but shrapnel had the head sliced open and the face and all like this, you know. Some of them that wounded, there some they got, the heart stops you know. Survived quite a few that the heart stopped, do the quick mouth-to-mouth. Once the heart start beating then you do the rest. Once you can put a tourniquet next to it so it don’t bleed, you can bandage him up good. So he doesn’t bleed to death, take him to hospital soon as possible. Because you had the van, and we had the jeep to take them closer to the front with two stretchers on it. One hospital we came in there, when they seen a jeep, or a van comes in, that truck, they tend them like lightning. Nurses and doctors, get them into emergency ward, you know. But some of them, doctors and nurses, they’re used to it. They know what to do, quick-like, but they had the equipment to work with, you know. Like on the field, what you have, just a few instruments with you in your pack. Just do the best you can. Lots of times I’m in the hospital when there’s not too many shells in those areas firing, so I’m in hospital checking those people in hospital how they are you know, surviving. Some of them pretty bad shape yet, they don’t know, they’re out cold yet, but they’re still breathing Well, lots of them that they know that I brought them in, I saved their lives, you know. They always say, “You’re not a doctor but how can you do it?” I said, “Well, I was there to save you guys. Ain’t that good enough?” I said. “I was trained to save, not to let you die.”

Description

Mr. Zayachkowski describes the types of wounds he dealt with, stopping bleeding as a first responder’s top priority, and visiting those he’d saved in hospitals on his rest days.

Michael Zayachkowski

Michael Zayachkowski was born in St. Julien, Saskatchewan on September 10, 1923. He was one of ten children. As a youth growing up in the Depression, Mr. Zayachkowski attended school, worked on the farm and helped in the woods. He enlisted in late 1941, and after a stint as a physical training instructor at Shilo, was deployed overseas. During his years abroad, Mr. Zayachkowski served in North Africa, Italy and D-Day through to Holland as a front line medical technician. Following the war, and after farming for a while, he joined the RCMP, where he served twenty-five years.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:32
Person Interviewed:: Michael Zayachkowski
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal Canadian Artillery
Rank:: Sergeant-Major

Language selection

I’m Trained to Save

Heroes Remember