A Headstrong Officer Dies
Heroes Remember
Transcript
When the bullets start flying, you know, there’s not shelling
with one shell, but 10, 20, maybe, 30 guns firing at once,
you know. The way they picked a position, command post,
you know. You put the two, one shell on each side, 10 minutes
time. Depends on what big position there was,
like in Cassino, that was a big place and within 10, 15 minutes,
look out. They got your target. They’ll get you.
I think it was 15 minutes, we lost over 300 men.
Just wiped the whole... I come in there to, the officer was
killed and they want me to take the position until they
got another officer so I can go keep on with my work.
And it just, coming with the jeep and you know, jeep you got
the open shield, you know, and shining right on that mountain,
reflect, and I told the officer, “Move that jeep out of
there or else...”. “I’m the officer there, I’m going to court
marshall you.” Fifteen minutes, just picked out a couple of
boots that was left out of him. Shell landed right in the jeep,
blew him to pieces. And we lost the whole position then.
Description
Mr. Zayachkowski describes the death of an officer, fresh on the front, who doesn’t heed experienced advice.
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:
- 1:28
- Person Interviewed:
- Michael Zayachkowski
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Battle/Campaign:
- Ortona
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Canadian Artillery
- Rank:
- Sergeant-Major
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