Description
Tom Gilday
In Ottawa he ended up volunteering for parachuting and hazardous duties. He then was part of a group that became the first Special Force; half Canadian and half American. He was then appointed as Battalion Commander. His crew fought and took over many mountain ranges that the Germans were protecting. They attacked at night and painted their faces black, they were known to the Germans as the ‘Devil's Brigade'. After being on the line for eight months during the Italian Campaign it was decided he would run a Recruit Training School. He then opened and ran the first Canadian Army Leave Transit Camp in Oyster Work. The camp was later moved to a larger camp in Nijmegen. In 1945 Mr Gilday was appointed General Staff Officer and placed in charge of the city of Amsterdam. He stayed there for six months and then returned home.
Transcript
Oh yes you, if somebody is wounded you can't stop to help them, you know there's a, you know the first aid people are behind and that you might give him a shot of morphine or something but you're fighting a battle and got to keep moving. So pat him on the shoulder and say, "I'll see you back there you lucky fella, your probably going to be in a hospital," and you know damn well he's gonna die. So you know, you got to jolly him up a bit and learn to live with it, as they say.