The War Ends

Heroes Remember

The War Ends

Transcript

It kept coming in that peace was about to be, to take place, we were relieved to think of it. And finally, we heard about the atomic bomb and I remember our doctor, Martin Bangille (sp) says, of course, I didn’t know about splitting the atom or… “They’ve done that now. Whoever’s done that will be dictator of the world, now who’s got the atomic bomb.” That was his remarks. Of course, he was quite a scientist anyway and he knew what it meant. And finally, the last parade we had, this is in the officer’s camp, the Japanese came into count and Colonel White said, “There will be no counting today, the war is over!” And through the interpreter, of course, the Japanese commandan said well, he hadn’t read his paper yet. “Here’s Hong Kong news. You take your guards off!” That’s the last we saw of them, the Japanese.

Description

Mr. Hurd describes hearing about the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, and senses that the war is over. His officer challenges the Japanese commandant about his authority, and the Japanese soon all disappear.

Lionel Hurd

Lionel Hurd was born on February 3, 1907 in Maple Leaf, P.Q. He was the eldest of three sons. After finishing school he went to work in a lumber yard, and then out to the gold mines in Kirkland Lake. In 1936 he became a surveyor. Despite being married with two children, Mr. Hurd enlisted in 1940, serving as a Captain at an internment camp near Quebec City. He then took a demotion to Lieutenant in order to join the Royal Rifles. Mr. Hurd was soon a Captain acting as regimental quartermaster. After the fall of Hong Kong, he was fortunate to be imprisoned with the other officers, thus avoiding much of the misery experienced by the non-commissioned ranks.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:: February 2, 2005
Duration:: 1:22
Person Interviewed:: Lionel Hurd
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Hong Kong
Battle/Campaign:: Hong Kong
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal Rifles of Canada
Rank:: Captain

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03