Medical Supplies to Ortona

Heroes Remember

Medical Supplies to Ortona

Transcript

The battle of Ortona, I was the RAP truck driver then, Regimental Aid Post, with all the medicine in it thing for the whole regiment, you know. And the regiment was at the front line and I was with the B Echelon they called that, in the back you know. Then they had a big fight there at Ortona, and I remember there was a lot of wounded so they needed the material. The doctor needed the material that was in the truck that I was, so they sent me to the front. So they gave me a, traced me a route how to take, where was the regiment and all this. I tried to follow it of course and you go down a ravine, it's a, it was a dry bed of a river, see. I didn't see the sign 67. They put the sign 67, see that was our regimental number. I didn't see the sign, I went past and the first thing I knew I was where the engineers testing for mines. I said, “Boy, I'm going too far.” Then there was a small garage there with jeeps in the front there and signalers, you know. I better stop here. I stopped and I got out and I went to ask them, I said, “You know where the Royal 22nd Regiment is?” “Yes,” he says, “it's back there about half a mile.” “Oh,” I says, “I went too far.” And no sooner as I speak to them, the Germans open up with their Moaning Minnies. We called that the Moaning Minnies. That's mortar fire but they fired six at a time you know and it's moaning, [imitates noise]. And they were firing at me, because they saw me coming with a big truck there. They didn't care about the red cross that was on the truck. The two guys I was speaking to they were killed right there and that's where I got a piece of shrapnel on the ankle. I took a dive beside the truck and I stayed there and a piece of shrapnel hit me there, that's all. Then I said, I better not stay here. I went in the back. There was an officer there. Then the officer said to me, he said, “Is that your truck there?” I said, “Yeah.” “Well,” he says, “get the hell out of here,” he said, “you're drawing the fire!” I never turned that truck so fast like that in my life, but I turned but they followed me with their... I went into the small town there. No sooner I got off the truck I got, I dove into a place where they had all the signalers and all this. The pieces of shrapnel was hitting the walls, you could hear it. I was laying on the floor and I wasn't touched. But anyway, then they came to tell me that the doctor was just around the corner, just down there, to take the truck there so I did. They followed me again.

Description

Mr. Clavel describes coming under attack from German mortars as he attempts to find and deliver medical supplies to the Royal 22nd Regiment's advance position at Ortona

Roger Clavel

Roger Clavel was born in Sainte-Scholastique, Quebec on February 15, 1919. He was the sixth of eight children. After finishing grade eight, he sold donuts door-to-door. Mr. Clavel enlisted three days after the war started, on September 13, 1939. He went overseas as a Fusilier de Montreal, and while in England he was married. Mr. Clavel then joined the Royal 22nd Regiment in North Africa. During the Italian campaign, Mr. Clavel eventually ended up driving a medical supply truck. The Royal 22nd Regiment then rejoined the Canadian army in Belgium, but Mr. Clavel saw limited action. After returning to Canada, Mr. Clavel had to wait exactly one year for the arrival of his war bride.

Meta Data