Close Call in Holland
Heroes Remember
Close Call in Holland
Transcript
Men marching on a country road.
move forward, this is what we all did. And just as we gotMen crossing a farmers field carrying equipment.
half-way across the opening, a German Spandau opened up fire across our front which meant to say that we would be walking into it and you could see the tracers going across the ground so onceA German Spandau firing from cover.
Rounds hitting the ground and causing an explosion.
that happened the order was given for everybody to spread out and move forward, you see. Well, I was on the left portion of my platoon so what I did, I moved - when I heard them say well, spread out - well, I moved to the left to give them room to spread out but they went the other way which I didn’t know at that time and I kept running towards the hedge that I saw in front of the barn. So when I got to the hedge, I could see a little dark spot in the bottom and the tracers were just starting to skip over in front of me, so what I did, I jumped over the hedge and into the hole that I saw or thought was a hole, which it was. When I hit the bottom, and I had a Sten gun in my hand, when I hit the bottom and stood up there was also a German in the same trench, and I couldn’t get the feeling in my finger to pull the trigger. For some reason I couldn’t pull it and it wasn’t until he got excited and made a grab for his gun that I sort of just squeezed and I killed him there, you see. And then when I heard his voice saying, “Fritz, Fritz,” there was another German coming around the corner there and I just doubled out of that hole and took off across the open space. I didn’t care what was there, bullets or anything where I came across my own unit and they had all been pretty well beat up and they were licking their wounds in this barn. I always remember that one.Description
Mr. Jones describes being separated from his unit while coming under fire. Separated from his men, he seeks cover in a trench, killing the German soldier who is occupying it.
Bud Jones
Bud Jones was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was a good boxer and very athletic, becoming a PT instructor before his deployment to Europe in the Second World War. He was assigned to the Royal Canadian Regiment, whose responsibility it was to eliminate German V2 rocket launching sites along the European side of the English Channel. He would see service in France, Belgium and Holland. Following his war service, Mr. Jones enlisted in the regular forces, becoming a career soldier. During that time, he served in Germany and Japan in addition to his service in Canada.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 2:45
- Person Interviewed:
- Bud Jones
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Holland/Netherlands
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Canadian Regiment
- Rank:
- Sergeant
- Occupation:
- Sergeant
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