Description
Mr. McAuley talks about what kind of battle it was in Hong Kong.
William Archibald McAuley
William Archibald McAuley was born on February 4th,1921 in McAuley, Manitoba. He worked on the farm while going to school. After graduating, he worked at a neighbors farm for seven dollars and fifty cents a month until he joined the army on September 17th,1939 when he was eighteen years old.
Transcript
We could see the Japanese at the border. They were there before they declared war, we could see them. The Japanese troops were there. We knew that we didn't have a hope in Hades of getting out, ya know, we knew it was coming. And we were out-numbered by, I don’t know how many times to one. I don't know how many thousands of Japanese were killed out of those pill boxes trying to come across the main land on landing barges until they finally made it across they were, you know, there were thousands of them to put it blindly and we lost a lot of people and they moved us back pretty quick and we got back and, fighting back, retreating. Japanese had running shoes, we had hobnail boots and you could hear us coming from miles and they could walk up behind ya and slit your throat and you didn't know they were coming. We were at a disadvantage in every which way you turned, you know. They knew, that was their style of country and they were equipped to do it, we weren't. We were in hobnail boots and they moved at night, always moved at night. You thought you had them nailed down tonight, in the morning they weren't there, they'd be some place else. They'd move in the night and you couldn't hear them moving. So they kept us, they brought us, let’s face it, they got us in the end, eh?