So Very Grateful

Heroes Remember

So Very Grateful

Transcript

If you’re in a unit that you join up with you develop a friendship towards, you’ll pick out, you know, naturally bond with a couple of buddies, like they’re your friends and you get to be close. Then as war goes along some guy might get wounded, well so what, he gets wounded it’s alright you know. And you go along maybe a month or so and jeez old Kelly is not around anymore, then you start taking things a little more serious, this game is not just, you know. Things are going to get serious and when once, I was three years there, I was working more or less as a you might say as a labourer. We were working all the time and then after six months they’d bring you in and they’d put you on courses and that and then out you go again. And they’d put you on concrete or whatever it was, you’re mixing stuff and that was the life of, to us. If you were in the infantry now you would be training doing infantry marching and you would be doing different training courses and stuff like that. But as engineers you are more or less tradesman. In this trade it was pretty dangerous at times, you know. I call it fate. Other people, whatever they might call it, you’re just lucky. But to me I think at times, you know, you will be sitting in the chair and, “By God, I’m pretty lucky I’m here.” More so, didn’t bother me too much at the first but as the years come by and I come back and I went to that cemetery I give it a lot of thought and I thought more about it each time I come of how lucky I have been. I am very happy to be here on this occasion and I thank the government for taking the interest in us and making sure that we got here and I’m quite happy, I’m at home.

Description

Mr. Sommerville remembers the camaraderie experienced during wartime and how grateful he is to have had the opportunity to return home.

Donald Sommerville

Mr. Donald Sommerville was born September 19, 1922 in Chatham, Ontario. Mr. Sommerville grew up on a farm and attended public school. He and his buddies decided to join the army and left for overseas as part of the Royal Canadian Engineers. Mr. Sommerville became part of the 23rd Royal Canadian Engineers, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He takes pride in the service provided as part of “Operation Duck” - an operation that lasted nine days before the war ended. Mr. Sommerville has returned to Holland for commemorative anniversaries. He now resides in Ontario with his family.

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