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WW II Veteran remembers life and war at sea B y Katina Diep
scientist for of 30 y ears before retiring. He and Lois Knowles-S m ith, his second wife, will celebrate their second anniver- sar y this co m ing Septe m ber. The young generation of Military A couple of m onths ago, S m ith at- tended the Cornwall Support Group’s first m eeting out of curiosit y . “For my - self there was no proble m , but m an y get back (fro m their service) and the y are disabled. The y don’t get the service the y need. I also wanted to know about PTSD. A lot of veterans need the m one y , the funds,” shared the veteran. So m e people will co m e back fro m a m ission affected b y what the y saw, what the y lived. In S m ith’s point of view, train- ing is a crucial part of the m ission. He believes the y ounger soldiers go to fight too soon. “The training goes a long wa y ; it’s what’s i m portant, whether in the Nav y or the Air Force. The y need longer training. Kids co m e back and the y are affected. The y go to the front and fight. When I was at war, I wasn’t m arried; I was b y my self, free,” pointed out S m ith. “Toda y , the y go into the Nav y on a m ission, to get a job. In those da y s, it was sail or jail or get a job,” he stated. The Cornwall Veteran Support Group will continue their m eetings after La- bour Da y . For m ore infor m ation, contact Denis Labbé at 613-931-1892 or Steven For- rest at 613-937-4474.
to a fixed salar y . His position was on a ship delivering goods, m unitions and gasoline to soldiers stationed abroad. “We were gone a few m onths at a ti m e, depending on where the y needed m aterial,” said S m ith. He would be gone at sea for m onths at a ti m e. So m e ships were tankers; others were food and suppl y carriers. “You change ships ever y ti m e we delivered,” he recalled. “We were trained to run a ship. We would bring the supplies to the Canadian bases in different part of the world. We’d carr y m u- nitions, tanks, m edical supplies. So m e Mer- chant ships were tankers; others were just food and suppl y carriers. We delivered,” he said. There were certain risks on a ship just as there were on the ground. “You’re alwa y s scared, Merchants were alwa y s scared. In the beginning the y had no guns in the ships. Later on during the war, the y got guns and could use the m ,” said the 88- y ear- old veteran. “In the beginning, the y had no guns on Merchant ships. Later on during the war, we had guns. I could use a m achine gun to shoot at sub m arines, but we were not trained to fight,” he added. “In the Ar my , the y were trained to kill, but when y ou had to do it in real life it’s hard. I had to do it on shore. It’s hard to kill so m e- one, y ou don’t have ti m e to think,” recalled S m ith. While on a m ission in the Caribbean sea, off the shore if Ital y , a torpedo hit the ship
sailing with a crew of 37 m e m bers of the Merchant Nav y , breaking the ship in half. “M y Mo m had heard that I m a y have been killed. I was with one of the officers. It hap- pened at night,” recalled S m ith. In the dark, S m ith could see what had happened to the rest of the crew. He was one of the onl y two who survived the attack and was later res- cued b y Italians. “Toda y , the y go into the Nav y on a m ission, to get a job. In those da y s, it was sail or jail or get a job.” It was onl y in the eighties, over 50 y ears after S m ith was discharged, that Merchant Nav y was allowed to receive a retire m ent pension for their service. “It took a ver y long ti m e to get the recognition. Not ever y one knows Merchant Nav y was different fro m the Marines and it no longer exists” he said. S m ith recalls a lot of details about this part of his life. Toda y , he appears as collect- ed and content as an y m an looking back. “I go to all the for m al events I’ m invited to,” he said cal m l y . After two y ears of service, he beca m e a
World War II veteran Lee Smith recently took a look back at his life, the equiva- lent of two lifetimes, comparing genera- tions of military. He was 19 y ears old when he enrolled in the Merchant Nav y , a group he recalls, was often confused with the Nav y . The two were distinct entities, offering differ- ent conditions to soldiers. For one thing, the y were paid b y deliveries, co m pared
WINNER
Congratulations to Mrs. Eliette Campeau, from Cornwall, who is the first winner of The Journal Summer Snacks contest. She chose to spend her $25 Gift Certificate at Sub-Bay restaurant. ’s
Savou rez... d’une rive a l’autre! !
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