Enlisting

Heroes Remember

Enlisting

Transcript

Interviewer: Tell me Mr. Champoux, what do you remember about your early schooling? What do you recall about the schooling that you attended? Well, if it hadn’t been for the war, I was going to finish Ottawa Technical High School. I was interested in various subjects at the time. But then the war broke out and I only had the one year high school at the time and I was, because of that September I was, I was to return to school and to find out my what room I would be going into for my second grade. But the part that I was going to be moving into at the school, it was under construction then. They weren’t finished, and that was in September. So they said, “Well you go home, and we’ll let you know when you can come in.” I was on my bike and on the way back I said, “The heck with this” I think I’ll go to the Navy and try and join the Navy. They weren’t, they weren’t called yet to recruit or anything, but they took my name and “We’ll give you a call when we get the word that we can take the recruits in.” So that wasn’t good enough for me on my way home again on my bike See I was in the NPM, Non Permanent Militia and at the drill hall the Cameron Highlanders were recruiting. But on the way, the Air Force, I had to pass the, in front of Chateau Laurier actually they had an office there. And I dropped in there as well, and again they didn’t have any word about recruiting but they took my name. So I said the heck with this. I drove back to the drill hall and I joined the regular force NPAM from the NPM.

Description

Mr. Champoux recalls attempting to join the Navy and then the Air Force but they were not yet recruiting. He then joined the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa - Army.

Robert Arthur Champoux

Mr. Champoux was born in Hull, Québec on March 21st, 1921. He lived there until the age of 8 when his father, a First World War Veteran, moved the family to Ottawa. Mr. Champoux had three brothers and four sisters; he was the third oldest child. When the war broke out he was attending Ottawa Technical High School. He left school, after his first year, to join the Army after failing to join the Navy and the Air Force (who were not yet recruiting). He left for Europe July 17th, 1940 and ended up stopping in Iceland where he remained for the next 10 months. Mr. Champoux’s wartime service saw him fighting on D-Day and in the Falaise Gap. He also fought in Calais and later on in Holland where he was wounded. Mr. Champoux got a job with the Mint upon returning to Canada. He joined the army again in 1948 retiring in 1965.

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