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Twice Wounded, Still Here!

Heroes Remember

Twice Wounded, Still Here!

Transcript
I was wounded twice during the war. The first time was life threatening and I remember the medic looking at me and very closely and he said, “Do you feel like coughing, Barr?” and I said, “Well I was, ya, but seems to have stopped now.” He said, “Let me tell you something, if that was one inch that way, you wouldn’t be coughing, you’d be dead.” Now something like that concentrates the mind very well, yes it does! But I was lucky in a way, I was walking wounded for a couple of days because we were on the move and then they sent me right down here to Dorval Truvil to a rest center and I had a few days with them. I was feeling quite well, so I went back to the regiment while it was healing up and I couldn’t dig any trenches or anything but somebody else dug them for me. I could operate the set and so I think that did me a lot of good. The second time I was hit was artillery fire. The thing went through the side of a vehicle, both skins of it, through a bag of earphones and stuck in my leg. And the medical officer pulled it out with a pair of tweezers. Oh dear, young and tough, really I guess that was it…yep.
Description

Mr. Barr shares in a humorous tone, his experiences of being wounded - one of them life threatening.

Vernon Barr

Mr. Vernon Barr was born November 11, 1921 in Cobourg, New Brunswick. Growing up in the shadows of the great war, Mr. Barr witnessed the return of Veterans and this left a lasting impression on him. Later in life when war was again declared, he volunteered to serve and became part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as a signals/wireless operator holding rank of corporal. Mr. Barr travelled overseas on the O’Ryan and was part of D- Day and the Battle of Normandy. He remains very proud of his service during the Second World War. Postwar and back in Canada, Mr. Barr and his family moved to Wolfville, Nova Scotia where he resides today.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:
June 3, 2014
Duration:
1:30
Person Interviewed:
Vernon Barr
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
France
Battle/Campaign:
D-Day
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
3rd Canadian Division Signals Corp
Occupation:
Signalman

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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