Guarding the PTT Building
Heroes Remember - Canadian Armed forces
Guarding the PTT Building
Transcript
I had a chance to work in the building, the PTT building and I
used to sit up in this window, again it was a six by six window,
and I used to watch kids play across the street.
It was just basically to hear the laughter. It was kinda of one
of those things you do. Well, one day, a group of about seven
of them come over. They spotted me in the window and, of course,
they came right over. Talked to them for a little bit and I
threw down a can of Coke. It was a warm can. I wasn’t going
to drink it. This little girl, held it up like a prize, like a
trophy. She probably hadn’t had a Coke for three years.
They were all taking turns sipping this Coke. Just thought they
had the world by the ass.
And, one of the young lads came over and, I was a smoker at the
time, and asked for a cigarette. So I threw him down one.
I got up on my haunches and threw down one. And he wanted
another one, he said. I said,
“You’re too young to be smoking.”, he said, “For my parents.”
I said, “Okay”. So I just got ready to throw another one down.
The kids are all down below me and all of a sudden I heard a
shriek, an explosion. I was blown out of the window by the
force, of the concussion. Where I was standing,
we were probably one of the only rooms that had windows left.
Where I was standing about this far away, there was a great
big hole through the window from shrapnel that I still have.
I went to the window to scream, the little girl had the Coke
and the boy that I was giving the smokes to...
they were both laying there dead. I hollered and screamed,
“Get the hell out, get out of here, go, run, run, run, run!”
They were just, they were motionless. They had left them there
and everybody else took off. They shelled us three or four more
times and I ran downstairs. There was nothing we could do
for these people, these kids. Everything else is kind of a blur.
We all went downstairs. They were shelling our building and we
brought their bodies in and put them in a body bag.
For years and years and years, I’ve always felt responsible
for those kids. I know I’m not, but it’s still inside me.
If I didn’t give them that Coke or I didn’t give him the smokes,
they wouldn’t have been there. They wouldn’t have been there.
When I came back up stairs after the shelling had stopped and I
went and collected all the shrapnel from that explosion.
There was some embedded in the wall and in the carpet and
I still have it. I still have it. What’s really, really weird
is all these years, it’s just little chunks of metal,
but I still have it. Most people never know, I don’t tell
everybody that it happened or what happened so... it’s never
easy to open up about it, you know. I’m a big tough guy.
I’m 6' 1. To sit here and cry about this...Why?...cause it hurts
Description
Mr. Ott shares a heart-wrenching experience he had while on guard duty and how the guilt and responsibility remains with him today.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 4:10
- Person Interviewed:
- David Ott
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Canadian Armed Forces
- Location/Theatre:
- Sarajevo
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Canadian Regiment
- Rank:
- Corporal
- Occupation:
- Rifleman
- Date modified: