Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Canada's forces in WW 2

Any have parents in Cananda's Armed Forces?

Nope. But I had a Canadian friend who served in the US forces.
He was working in the US (legally) and was drafted. At that time if you were an alien (non-US citizen) you were subject to being drafted just like a US citizen.
I think that law is still on the books but good luck on it being enforced today.

drover

My father was in the RAF, so no. I did 22 years in the air force as an armourer, and 11 more as a civilian armament instructor before retiring in 2015.

If I remember correctly, it was an American serving in the British Air Force that spotted the Bismark, after she sunk the Hood.

My grandfather served with Canadian forces pre AEF in WW 1 in France he was a mechanic who worked on Newports and Sopwith Camels...mb

I thank them for their service.

No parents - Father-In Law was in the Calgary Canons - Sherman Tanker that fought in Italy. An uncle on my dad’s side fought in Europe. If the war had gone one more year Dad would have been of age to be called up.

Different generation

My father was in the royal engineers active service from D-Day until bend of hostilities emigrated to Canada after the war. Grandfather was Irish Guards in WW1 fought against the Turk and the Germans. He stayed in Britain.

When I immigrated in 1972 the local Legion branch was full of vets—a lot of them saw WWII combat action. One of the most interesting was a guy who had help build the AlCan highway and the most decorated was a Native fella who served in Korea. They are all gone now.

I remember having WWI and WWII vets coming to my school to talk about the wars. That was the 1960s.

We used to see a lot of former US serviceman at Remembrance Day ceremonies when I was stationed in Comox on Vancouver Island.

There was a strange confluence of former US servicemen and draft dodgers in attendance. The cenotaph was located about 1/4 mile north of Courtenay on Mission Hill. We marched to it and the vets would follow, many in electric wheelchairs.

At the cenotaph, we actually stood at a angle because of its location. The RCMP shut down the highway for an hour. Many of us were concerned that if an older person in a wheelchair had their brake fail, they would start rolling down the hill. They most certainly would have been badly injured.

My father served from 1939 thru to 1946 when cleanup was finished. Previous generations all served, starting with the war of 1812!
Grew up surrounded by returning vets.

According to this article from two and a half years ago, there aren’t many WWII vets left. Their average age now would be about 96.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudb...terans-future-rememberance-day-1.5795828

Dad was fourteen when he tried enlisting. He was deferred. I had three uncles that served overseas. One was a paratrooper. One was in the infantry. One was a Bren Gunner. All three returned home and lived good lives after the battle. They were all recognized by the locals. Good men that served with distinction.

My father's dad was a tanker in Italy.

My mom's dad could not enlist because he was flat footed. He went to England anyways to dig people out of the rubble during the blitz.

Both survived but neither spoke a word of it.

My step father's dad was in arty in WW1. He got gassed but survived.

Of course not just WW2.

Grandfather, HMCS Ottawa (the second one). His brother served on a Canadian Corvette, the boats name escapes me. They where both from PEI so the Navy came naturally. Also my Grandfather on the other side served with English forces in the second war. Great Grandfather served as a Gunner in the first war. I have both my Grandpa and his dads medals. I also have gramps pay book, discharge papers, and some uniform bits and pieces.

My father served in WW2 ( army) , along with many uncles.
Had many relatives who served after .
Cat.

My father was with Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders from Winnipeg. Enlisted in 1939 @ 20 years old and returned in late 1945. He survived the Dieppe Raid but was wounded. Surived D Day but was wounded again. Married my mother in England in 1942 and she arrived in Canada with my eldest sister 1945 before my father was released from the army. He only talked of the funny things that happened during training in England but never mentioned anything about combat other than losing a couple of friends and that he had always hoped to return to Dieppe to find grave markers. He never made it. One of the few remaining WW II vets alive until his passing in 2007. Very proud to still have his medals and uniform with kilt. ( His wedding outfit)

Kerea as well.

You don't deserve to speak about Canadians in World War II.

[bleep] off you demented attention seeking old [bleep]

HUH?

Directed at the stupid old [bleep] that started this thread Wabigoon

My Grandfather was a member of the 1st Canadian mounted rifles, WW1, he was 17, then he signed up again for WW2, I have all of his war and medical records from both wars.

An Uncle was a Royal Rifle, he spent 4 years in a POW in Hong Kong.

Another Uncle was a member of the Canadian Navy, I couldn't get him into a boat and go fishing, he had PTS so bad he literally turned into a child trying to get him out there, but he was no child.

My Father in law was also involved in WW2, he fought for the Canadian army, and his brothers fought for the American army as they pioneered and lived in a small border town between BC and Montana.

My Father was too young for WW2, but was a member of the armed forces for about 7 years and was stationed in Germany just after the war.

I often wonder if we would be better off hunting down war mongers at home before the war mongers send young men off to war.

Don't forget the 1st Special Service Force-a Joint Canadian-USA force that was feared by the Nazis at Anzio enough to move its lines back 1 KM. Very tough fighting against the German Army-not Italians-in the mtns of Italy.
And then there are the Princess Pats...
All being said our nations need to watch our politicians -as few have been shot at-and fewer are willing to draft their own sons...

The only real justification for conflict is when your own country is invaded. And that country should attempt to eject their own enemy.
Life is in fact, too short. As a combat veteran, I think all wars should be fought with 80 year old widowers and terminal cancer patients.


Socrates was an infantryman in the Greek wars.


"Only the dead have seen the end of war"-Plato

And then there are the documented Canadians who came across and joined US Army Special Forces to fight in Vietnam.
There were at least a small handful, and I met the tall BC lad whose father sent him a long bow and arrows. He was above six ft tall..and the MACVSOG team in
Laos frightened the NVA with an ancient native / Welsh bow accuracy-the Viets fled in terror. A true story.
Meanwhile, our deplorables fled North. The irony of the 1960s.

When the earlier Trudeau Admin tried to abolish the Parachute Regiment for their sins and rough training, I sent a letter of protest to MacCleans. I received a phone call. Horrors, they printed it.

LtCol-USA-ret

5th Special Forces Gp(ABN)
Vietnam-71-72

I have known a number of American draft dodgers, they were the forerunners to the weed industry we have here today, but curiously, also know a number of American Vietnam veterans who came up here after their service, my one friend did 3 tours, and the other friend was a high ranking man who was a veteran of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. I asked both of my friends why they came up here, I will keep that to myself.

I have several other acquaintances who were Vietnam vets who came up here.

I know several Canadians who were in Vietnam, they loved the USA as much as Canada at the time.

There was a lot happening between the borders. Not too many people know about those things. As I mentioned earlier, when I was stationed in Comox, BC, we used to talk with many of them at the base or the Courtenay Legion. The majority were Canadians who went to the US and joined the US military. A minority were draft dodgers who settled on Vancouver Island.

Someone should write a book about the Cdns that joined to fight in Vietnam. And the draft dodgers too. Although the numbers are dwindling, there must be enough around to tell their stories.

673;
Morning my friend, I hope you all are getting some above freezing temps up there and you're all well.

What an impressive heritage you have sir, that's something in my view.

The uncle who was a POW in Hong Kong would have endured unfathomable circumstance. It's amazing any of them came out of that sort of thing to be even remotely okay, you know?

I had an older friend from our church who's father was working for a British executive and mother was Canadian, both living in China where he was born and raised. When he was 13 I believe it was, the Japanese invaded, killed his father and put he and his mother in to separate concentration camps. When he got out 5 years later they went "back" to Canada even though he'd never, ever been there. He was 40 or 50lb underweight and had to go into a Canadian school at the grade he'd left at 13 and of course he was 18.

Anyways 673, he did his level best to never buy anything made in Japan unless there was nothing else available. He told me a few stories in his quiet way of unthinkable horror.

As I've mentioned, on my late Mother's side two uncles were in WWII, one on the ground and one in the RCAF though he didn't go overseas. Two of my wife's uncles, so two of the three boys volunteered and one was a tail gunner on a Lancaster while the other was a forward artillery observer, both jobs that had about a 2 week life expectancy.

The war mongers are tough to figure out when they own the legacy media and seemingly the government sometimes too aren't they?

I don't know what the answer is exactly, but "this" doesn't seem to be it for sure.

Best to you all.

Dwayne

I believe that was the Cretian administration, but Liberal Gornmemt all the same .
Cat

Two of dad's uncles landed in Normandy. One night at a family gathering at the farm, around 1974 or so, was the first time they openly talked about the war. On my mom's side an uncle was a mechanic in the RCAF. Another uncle-in-law was tail gunner in a Lancaster. One more was trained as a radio/navigator and was about to leave from Newfoundland when it ended. One of my dad's uncle was gassed in the trenches in WWI but survived, and another was killed.

Not as much serving with as there to train them on the Catalina's. Interesting story

https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/the-american-who-helped-sink-the-bismarck/

Thank you so much.

Dad joined in '39, got out in'45. Normandy,the Low Countries and northern Germany. His stories were only the funny ones.

If you are a resident alien and don't register for Selective Service, it is a disqualification for your green card application. It is still the law that ALL resident males between 18 and 35 must register.

My Best friend passed in 2021, at 101.

He was a Captain Bomber Pilot and flew 32 missions, bombing runs over Germany in a Halifax, then he flew Spitfires for the RAF.

He won the DFC. Does not get more heroic than that! Coolest man I ever met.

God Bless Howard Hicken, may he rest in peace.

KB

Many Canadians served in the Aleutian Chain during WWII.

I had never known this^^^^
I went and looked it up, very interesting.

My dad fought in the Battle of Normandy,the Battle of Falaise Gap, the Battle of Scheldt, the Battle of the Rhine Approaches, and the Liberation of Holland . The Canadian Army fought all the way through the low countries into northern Germany. There was a division in Italy, but my dad wasn't there.

Personally, I would much prefer being stationed in the Aleutian Chain, eating fresh salmon, then storming the beaches at Normandy which was BRUTAL!

God bless your father downwindtracker2!

KB

The Aleutians had very bad weather, a wet cold, and muskeg .

But very little dying and safe compared to Normandy!

KB

When I was stationed in Germany in the 1970s - then West Germany - there were a lot of Canadian veterans in their 50s and 60s visiting Europe. We had the chance to spend time with some, their German counterparts and veterans from other European countries. In my experience, most were ordinary men who shared some bad times. I lived in Hugelsheim which was on the Rhine River across from Alsace, France.

If you can imagine the war at your front door, the memories were still fresh in the minds of the people who lived there. It was barely 30 years after WWII. Unlike what you hear, the locals talked about the war and their memories, both good and bad. They did not keep it to themselves.

When I was posted to 4 Wing, Germany, there was a memorial marker and some graves located a short distance from the back gate that led to the village of Schiftung. I got there in 1979, shortly after a new memorial to these soldiers was erected near the road.
---

This was on the memorial marker.

Gedenkstein für 31 deutsche Soldaten im Söllinger Wald zwischen Flughafen und dem Ort Schiftung nahe der Gemarkungsgrenze. Die Soldaten fielen bei Kampfhandlungen im Elsass am 19. Januar 1945 und wurden zunächst hier beigesetzt. Einzelne Tote wurden später in ihre Heimatorte umgebettet. 1976 errichteten überlebende Kameraden den Gedenkstein.

Translated - Memorial for 31 German soldiers in Sollingen Forest between the airport (Cdn Forces Base Baden - 4 Wing, Steve) and Schiftung (a nearby village, Steve). The soldiers were killed in combat in Alsace on 19 Jan, 1945. They were initially buried here. Later, several were reburied in their hometowns. In 1976, friends who survived put up this memorial.

Alsace was across the Rhine from the base.

Thank you for your service Mr. Redgwell, God bless!

KB

A good Canadian friend's dad was a German SS officer, when she showed me a picture of him in his uniform, in front of a German staff car with their Jewish's friends it put a entirely different light on things.

She said he surrendered to a black GI, and thought he was a goner when the GI reached in his pocket, then offered him a stick of gum.

The First Special Service Force:FSSF "Black Devils" was half US-half Canadian.
Highly decorated for service in Italy. At Anzio, German units moved
their lines back 1 KM to avoid nightly raids costly to the Wermacht.

Predecessor to US Army Special Forces.

What did, or do call the Canadian Navy's of the US Frogmen?

We call our frogmen 'divers' or PIDs - Port Inspection Divers. We used to call them clearance divers, but terms seem to change every 20 years or so.

In the spring of 1943, American and Canadian Forces attacked the Island of Attu to drive out the Japanese that had occupied the Island for a year.
Canada suppled recon and air support for the battle that became the second bloodiest battle of the Pacific Theater next to Iwo Jima yet many don't realize that the Allies fought a major battle on American soil.

I've often wanted to visit that area but Aleutian seas and I don't agree very well.

During a vacation in Florida (some time during the 70's I believe) I had car problems and had to wait in a G.M. dealership shop while waiting for a part to be delivered. The mechanic working on my car and I were chatting when the shop foreman came over and told the mechanic that he wanted him to work on a Japanese import. The mechanic told his boss flat out that he would quit before he would work on a Japanese car. An argument broke out while the foreman tried to save face in front of his customer but he eventually left and tried to find another mechanic who would do the work.

Turned out the mechanic who was working on my car had been in the Second War where he had fought the japs. He had such bitter memories he refused to have anything to do with any product that came out of Japan.

During my work career I met a German builder who worked in our city. During an evening get together one time he said he had been in the Luftwaffe during the second war. According to him he said many of the pilots were drunk or partially so when ever they flew. He thought the majority of them expected to be killed every time they went up. Eventually he became a multi millionaire and his name became a hallmark for quality buildings both here and in the U.S.

One of my uncles was in the reserves prior to the second war. He signed up and eventually became a captain by the end of hostilities.

By the end of the war I was only 9 years old so never had to serve.

Jim

Here is a link for more details, almost 2500 dead Japanese, only 28 survivors, 1,000 Americans lost,, on North American soil, and most have never heard of it.
This would be a good reason for the internment camps Canada had for the Japanese already living here, sadly, when at war what else are we going to do? we may be faced with a similar situation in the future.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-attu

I met a Canadian that served in the Alutas in WW2.

I met a Canadian that served in the Alutas in WW2.