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Description
Mr. Danson describes how he came back to Canada to get his commission. Despite his best efforts, he did not make it back to Europe in time for the D-Day invasion.
Barnet J (Barney) Danson
M. Danson est né en Ontario, en 1921. Avant la guerre, il travaillait pour Columbia Pictures. En tant que Juif, M. Danson était bien conscient du climat politique en Europe. Quelque chose lui disait que la guerre était imminente, et l'envie d'aller se battre l'a pris. Il s'est donc enrôlé, en temps de paix, dans l'espoir de suivre un entraînement et d'être fin prêt advenant le déclenchement de la guerre. M. Danson était officier d'infanterie dans le Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. À l'automne 1944, il fut blessé et dut mettre fin à sa participation à la guerre. Il devint par la suite un homme d'affaires prospère. Plus tard, il fit son entrée sur la scène politique et servit à titre de ministre de la Défense au sein du gouvernement Trudeau.
Transcription
I was away, getting my commission. I'd been, we'd all become corporals and sergeants, the four of us. And I was sent back, at that time they were sending them back to Canada for training for commissions. And Earl took his training over there, subsequently, Gerry came back to Canada for his commission. And by the time I got back to the regiment, see I stayed here for almost a year. My training took, I guess, maybe 3 or 4 months and then I was an instructor at the officer's training school. And then a great man, his picture is up there too, Milton Greg, a VC winner from the first war, took me with him to Vernon, British Columbia, where we took over sort of a run-down battle school and turned it into a first class battle school in the mountains in the Okanagan Valley. We were afraid of missing what we called the invasion. In those days it wasn't really called D-Day until D-Day. May the 6th, ‘44 I left Vernon to get back to try and join my regiment to be there in time for the invasion. And I was a captain by that time, but I reverted in rank, because I would never get back in my regiment as a captain, to lieutenant, and when I was in Debert, Nova Scotia, it was our last stop before we went back overseas, D-Day came, and I got word there that Freddy had been killed right on the beach. Freddy was the only one who refused a commission. He didn't want to be away from the regiment when this big event came off. And he hardly got out of the landing craft and I don't think he hit dry land, but I visited his grave at Beny-Sur-Mer.