Description
Mr. Blake tells of a situation he found himself in while training with grenades.
James Blake
Mr. James Blake was born in Belleville, Ontario in 1931, a time during Canada’s depression. Following in his father’s footsteps Mr. Blake decided to join the military. He became part of the Armoured Corps holding rank of corporal. Throughout his military time, Mr. Blake had an opportunity to deploy overseas to Crypus. Now retired, Mr. Blake enjoys life and remains active in his community. Being part of the Canadian delegation in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge is an honour for Mr. Blake and he holds a great deal of pride for his service and for all who served to earn the freedom we share today.
Transcript
There was this one day the sergeant took us all out to the grenade range, the old hand grenades and so I was sitting in the waiting bay and the guy up in the tower said, "Prepare to throw! Throw!' So I didn't even have a grenade so I ran into the throwing bay and I put my hand out and the sergeant put this grenade in my hand and I didn’t' really look, I saw the ring there but I didn't realize but the lever was on the outside, It's supposed to be in here and I never noticed that so I pulled the pin out and “Bing!” off it went, you now have seven seconds to get rid of it. The sergeant didn't even have time to grab it out of my hand like they usually do, I just said, "Oh shit!' or words to that affect and I ducked down and just dropped it over the wall and "Boom!" off it went. And he picked the lever up and give it to me and he said, "Here, show this to the next insurance guy that comes around. You're a hazard!"