A Coincidental Reunion
Heroes Remember
Transcript
I was in Williams Lake visiting my son. There was a big,
they were doing celebration. They were, a new church opening in
there. And that, my son was, he's school teacher in there, but
now he's a inspector of all school teachers in Alberta.
So came up there to chat with my son and he said, “This is the pastor of
this church,” and he seen I had the legion crest on so he said,
“I belong to the legion too,” and he was limping. I said, “Why
are you limping?” “Oh, it's a long story.” I said, “Well, say
something, maybe I know something.” He was young in Africa,
we're getting off the boat and he got shot in the leg by a sniper.
And he said, “A young fellow here, he was a, had the
first aid band on it, he went and pulled that bullet out of my
leg. It was hit right to the bone. So he pulled the bullet out
and patched it up and put me in red cross ambulance, on a
helicopter, shipped me back to England.” And he said, “And I was
telling people here in church you know, about this war and said
I wish I could see that young fellow that saved my life and my
leg.” I said, “You know pastor, you're talking to him.” If my
son wouldn't have stand behind him, he would've fall right on
his back. There was 400 people in the church, initiating the new
church. Then he start telling that speech, you know. And he
said, “The father of the young fellow saved my life in Africa,
he's in church today.” And I was sitting way on back bench ready
to crawl underneath. So I was there two weeks I spent only one
night in my son's place. Every lunch, dinner, supper, they were
taking me to different places. He says, “You saved our pastor,
you got to save your life too.” Well, something nice to hear
that, something like that, you know. And 400 people, I had to
shake hands with everyone.
Description
Mr. Zayachkowski describes going to his son’s church and meeting the pastor, a soldier he’d saved during his wartime service in North Africa.
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:
- 2:15
- Person Interviewed:
- Michael Zayachkowski
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Canadian Artillery
- Rank:
- Sergeant-Major
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