Description
Mr. Toney offers a message for youth to read about and understand what war is and if you enlist, do so for the right reasons.
John Martin Toney
John Martin Toney was born on September 26, 1923 on the Neskonlith Reserve, British Columbia. The strongest influence in his life was his grandfather, who taught him spirituality, life and survival skills. Mr. Toney feels that at that time he was being groomed to become a Chief. By the age of eight, he was hunting game to help feed his family. He later worked at a ranch and then as a carpenter. Proud to enlist, the army’s restrictive criteria forced Mr. Toney to renounce his Aboriginal heritage and designate himself an Irish Catholic. He was accepted by the Seaforth Highlanders, Engineering Corps, based on his success at demolition. His first action saw him in the second wave at Dieppe where he witnessed much death and suffering. Agile in the field, he hand-picked and led many reconnaissance and demolition patrols against the Germans. Mr. Toney was wounded twice, and after his second recovery, finished the war as motorcycle dispatch rider. He then signed up for Pacific duty, returning home early
Transcript
You should really learn about wars and how horrible they are and everything. Make sure it’s a good cause you’re going in for. To study on it first and read about all what goes on when there’s a war and find out why the reason, why they have to fight. Not, not just go out there just because it’s something to do. Cause it’s, it’s not. It’s something that you owe for your own country, your own life, you gotta go out and do these things. No, you gotta study first to know exactly why you’re going in there and the reasons behind everything and then, then you go, and then you’ll accomplish something. Otherwise you might last one day or if you do come through the whole thing you’re still scarred, for nothing. You don’t know why you were there, but you come out, you’re, you’re scarred for the rest of your life and you don’t know why. You have no, no reason. So that’s what I’d recommend to them, to read about it. Make sure that you know why you’re doing it. Then when you come out scarred, you’re not as bad off as if you just went in there thinking it’s something to do, fun or something, just to shoot at somebody or drive a tank or an air plane. It’s, there’s a lot more to it than that. It’s serious business. It’s not, not play.