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Topic: Sunday Times Article of Thanks Canada. (Read 505 times)
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george burrows
redpatch43
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2002
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I would like to thank YOUNG KEN for the article in question. It is very nice to finally see someone in Britain who appreciates what our country has done for them. For me it is a very disheartening thing as a WW 2 vet of the First battalion in the Sicily/Italy campaigne to have done what we had to do ( on voluntary basis ) to keep peace in the world, and not receive any credit for it.
This is not a personal problem, but a military stature poblem within the Canadian Army. Following the end of WW 2, any War History published in the Canadian Press and elsewhere, it was ALWAYS about D DAY and what a wonderful job they did. That philosophy has become so imbedded in peoples minds, both military and Non military that everyone today is only familiar with D Day and its activities. This was simply a matter of Military Politics. AS some of you maay have learned, following the end of the war and evrybody came home, the main interest was to claim as much personal Bragging Rights as possible. Those in power , primarily the upper echolon of the army, who fought in France as part of the D day force were those officers, politicians etc who fought in the Canadian 2 nd Corps,. With that type of exposure they were naturally in a position to deliver to the press etc. the information they wished to favour. As a result it was the views of D DAY that prevailed then, as now. The press has not forgotten it ever since.
Perhaps it is worth clarifying why most of the 1 st Can Corps feels the way we do, and have felt since the end of the war.
1. First Can Corps, including THE RCR, invaded Sicily on July 10, 1943 and fought all through Sicily and then invaded Italy On Sept 03, 1943 and continued to fight until May 08, 1945 = 22 months in battle.
D Day forces landed in France on June 06, 1944 and fought until May 08, 1944 = 11 months.
2. Allied forces in Sicily /Italy fought upwards of 50 of Germanys top divisions during that period of time.
3. It is the conjecture of many First Corps members, that , if we had not Invaded Sicily / Italy during that period, that the D DAY INVASION WOULD HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE FIASCO. and our forces would have been driven back into the Sea.
4. Bear in mind tha Hitler had these Divisions already in France and surrrournding areas when we Invaded Sicily, BUT transferred them to Italy following our invasion. If they had remained in France as part of Hitlers Invasion Reserves, they could have been engaged in a hurry to offset our D Day forces.
5. Our regimental losses for THE RCR was 80% , which is very high.
6 No one cares to want to know JUST HOW MANY INFANTRY SOLDIERS SURVIVED from 1 st. Corps. of NINE INFANTRY REGIMENTS.
7. AS of the Middle of December 1943, there were ( according to Major Galloway at that time) and further varified by DND for the author of the book "THE DAY DODGERS') there were only 34 members of THE RCR'S Invasion force still fighting with the regiment.
Of those 34 men, 9 were officers , plus 25 O.R's . When these figures are broken down further, it shows that upwards of 75%of the 34 were from H. Q. Coy., leaving only five or six of us left from the other A to D coys.
If this is projected out to a survivor rate of 50 per regiment , x 9 regiments, this would show that only about 450 Infantry soldiers from 1 st Corp survived out approx 7,000 men. Our regimental landing force was estimated at 790.
From the above info, perhaps it helps all of our younger men from our regiment and others to understand why soldiers are so sensitive about being the credit they deserve. Can you blame them?
I sure hope we treat our brothers in arms in Afghanistaq better than we have been treated over the years, press wise.
I also wish to thank Jess Reed for inserting the poem. Very good. I think I will print it out and add it to my Autobiography.
Do we know who the author is? I would like to insert that as part of posterity too.
The above is just food for thought , in case you everto use it.
PRO PATRIA.
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Hi George , great to catch another dandy from you. I have to agree with you and likely thousands of other veterans of Sicily and Italy, that it is VERY LIKELY that the D _Day campaign WOULD have at least been a far more bloody ordeal ,jhad not the "Dodgers" as you fellas labelled yoursel;ves , been tearing at the heart of a lot of top German Divisions and not only keeping them away from N West Europe , but defeating them in fine fashion as well. It is too bad that politics and bragging rights have taken away from the REAL FACTS... BUT..there are historians out there who have and are doing their vbest to get the FULL FACTS into print, and into HISTORY... the saddest part to me ,is that so many vets of the Sicily/Italy campaigns have not YET received the recognition they EARNED....it is nice to add ,that they have all, just let it slide, accepting the former reality, which we do know were mnot the true facts...it is coming to light now... thank God and some really good historians and vets.... i will humnbly add my thanks to aall you Veterans of Sicily /Italy, who absolutly ensured our D-Day success..thanks George, keep these coming, itis the way real truths come out sometimes.. ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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george burrows
redpatch43
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2002
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Hi everybody: I made a very BIg BOO BOO in the above article and did not catch it until I edited it later on.
I mentionedtha twe, of Italy faced 50 gewrmanDiovision during the war. That is a mis print. The actual correct figure should be 20 Divisions. / NOT 50.
Sorry guys for the slip up.
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Thanks for the correction George , not a problem from my standpoint, all the best, ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Jesse Reed
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George the author of that poem is not know.
Jesse
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Jesse Reed
reedj@rogers.com
1-866-808-9066
(Toll free North America)
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george burrows
redpatch43
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2002
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thanaks anyaway Jesse. appreciate the reply.
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Hey George.
How far along on the autobiography are you?
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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george burrows
redpatch43
Veteran 100+ Member
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2002
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Hi Mike:
So far I have put together 73 pages (8 x 11). I think I have jusg about reached the maximum. However, I do keep researching for the military portion of it. As you probably know it is impossible to remember each and every detail for the entire 22 months in
Italy. It has been suggested by a couple who have seen
it that it should be published. We have a small publisher here in Windsor
who does a very good job and will edit it for review and then if good enough they will publish it for you. I may consider that when satisfied that I have everything in it.
thanks for asking.
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Great stuff George. I can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy, and dig into it. Ny own personal desire ,is to readas many personal recollections of "their " war as it seems, by all i have read that a lot of the "reality" comes thru. Not as gore , and blood and guts , but the day to ady , sometimes the minute by minute ,reality of war.I am currently reading two nbooks by Will Bird ,who was in WW1, and they are of his time in the trenches, and behind the lines, the second is a recount of a return to the battlefields ,13 years later. He is a very good writer, of course ,he is no longer with us [RIP] but the books are a very good read.I will post the titles if anyone would like them. ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
Ultimate 2000+ Member
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Posts: 3675
A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Thats pretty neat, George. Perhaps, once you get to the point wherein you are satisfied with your efforts, post the portions relevant to The Regiment. Or the entire tome, for that matter. Should you get enough interest ref views, you can use that to support you case for publishing.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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george burrows
redpatch43
Veteran 100+ Member
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Posts: 191
2002
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Thanks Mike for the welcome thoughts. Will definetly consider your suggestion.
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