107 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca and in tents. For a while they had to eat what was called "Hard Tack" for their meals. These were heavy but took less room for transporting. The noise was so loud at night that they could not sleep through the night. For a while there was a steady thunder of bombs and shells, and noise from artillery guns placed around them for protection; fires gave them light through the night. For all the time that Conrad spent in the Army, these were the worst places and events. He believed in the prayers of those who prayed for them. One time, pieces of shrapnel were falling all around Conrad, and he happened to be beside a large tree, so he found protection underneath it. Another time, two of them were guarding a gate all day long, and there were bullets and shells dropping all around them; Conrad thought that it was a miracle that they hadn’t been hit! The guard next to him was shot in the back of his knee; Conrad learned later that his leg had to be amputated above the knee. The worst times were when they had to haul ammunition at the dumps when there was an enemy air raid above them. Imagine if a bomb was to fall on one of their 'munition' trucks. What an explosion that would make! For a while they had to haul while in the dark of the night. The leader of the convoy had to know the area and road very well in order to get to the right place. The trucks following each other were guided by looking at the white differential reflected by a little light from underneath the truck ahead. As they had to move ahead from time to time they were stationed at Antwerp, Belgium, where there was a large airport. They had to haul rubbish for the men who were repairing the airport, where Vl and V2 bombs were dropped every day. This finally ended after about three months. They lived in old damaged buildings while they were there. The window openings were paneled with boards. Conrad’s bed was placed near one of these panels, and one night just as he laid down in bed, a big V2 bomb fell at the airport nearby. The noise of that bomb shook the building enough to throw that panel down onto his bed. He was not hurt by the panel but did get a little frightened as it stayed on the top of the head and foot board of his bed. They moved on to another town in Belgium, which was not all damaged. It was nice to see but hard to believe after seeing all the other wrecked places over the past nine months. In addition to this they were told they could stay in private homes, where some of the good families accepted two of them in each home to stay at night and to rest in comfortable beds. This change seemed almost unbelievable! They ate their meals in restaurants. However they were not there long, just about one month, but they appreciated the rest they had during that time. They moved on to Holland, where winter made the roads icy and very slippery. The deep canals on the sides of the roads made driving even more dangerous. Most of the time they hauled sand to keep the roads open. From Holland, their Company was called to go somewhere in Germany. However, three of the men were called out to go to Paris. This again was a big change, to see lights and the city streets brightly lit. Where they had come from, they could not even light a match outside in the dark. They were the first Canadians in Paris and a staff was formed. By now, the war was getting close to the end. In Paris they had to fill the day with 10-12 hours, seven days a week, for about three to four months. They then went to six days and then five days a week. They hauled rations from one main point and distributed the goods to other places around the city, such as restaurants and hotels. They made once-a-week deliveries to Little France, Belgium and Holland. Conrad was once somewhere in Germany to move an officer's batman and the luggage. He also delivered mail for about two months from the main post office to other points in the city using a very small delivery truck. Things were slowing down as the war was coming closer to an end. In the fall of 1945, a group of Canadians were called back to Canada. Some left but they had a choice and could stay for another two or three months. Conrad decided to stay as he would miss the worst part of the cold weather in Manitoba, also he was interested in his current job, which was taking care of phone calls and the points on the map where supplies had to go. There were still a few truck drivers and taxi cabs on duty, and he had to make sure that there was one available in case of an emergency. Conrad was amongst the last group to leave for Canada. They boarded a boat called the "Ille de France" which took two weeks to cross the ocean. They arrived at Halifax and took a train to Winnipeg, slept overnight, then took a train to Fisher Branch. Conrad was finally home with his dear parents, brothers and sisters, whom he had not seen for three years, although they had communicated through letters. He hardly had a month without sending a few words. He recalled kissing the letters before putting them in the mail. He was discharged from the Army a month after he returned home - "Good-Bye Soldier". He had a whole new life ahead of him but was back at the same point he had left three and a half years before.
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