Description
Mr. Goettler talks about a strange encounter he had during a survivor’s course.
George Angus Goettler
George Angus Goettler was born in Palmerston, Ontario on October 23rd in 1923. Mr. Goettler’s father had a grocery store where he, his two brothers and his sister worked. He had a second sister who died at a young age. Mr. Goettler served as a wireless operator, radar operator and tail gunner with the 160 Squadron. After completing their tour, Mr. Goettler’s crew was put on a rest tour where they tested aircrafts. After the war, Mr. Goettler returned to the grocery business, running his own store in Palmerston, Ontario.
Transcript
When we were in Minneriya, all of a sudden, I was chosen to take a survivors course. We were then told how to chop with our machetes, chop bamboo, about this size because there was all kinds of it along the rivers. And then use vines as cords and make the big end, make a float about that wide. And then it came up to a point and then you have one bamboo pole to go down a river. We were taken to a spot and one of us, about every two to five minutes, would take off down this river, one very big river. And I remember, usually I could look ahead. I could see another fellow ahead of me and maybe I’d see another person behind. And I came around the corner and there wasn’t anybody ahead of me or anybody behind. And here’s a whole herd of water buffalo are having a drink in this small creek. It wasn’t any wider than this room. You know the saying, ‘I didn’t know whether to shit or go blind’? But there was no - I didn’t have much choice, you know. The stream wasn’t fast, but I still … and I decided, well, I would go through and I quietly went by this 15 to 20 water buffalos. And they never worried about me one bit. But they sure scared me.