155 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca PRUSS, Walter WWII Walter enlisted in February 1942 for active service in the Army at Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg. He served with the Canadian Army overseas, as he believed it was his duty to serve his country and sovereign. He took his basic training at Fort Garry, Winnipeg and spent four months of parade square drill and route marching. He was transferred to Camp Ipperwash, Ontario to complete his advance training in assault course and night manoeuvres. In July 1943, he got two weeks leave. When he got back to camp, all personnel were confined to barracks. One week later he was transferred to Halifax to board the troop ship, Queen Elizabeth, destination - England. It took the ship six days to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship held 30,000 troops on board on that trip. One day out at sea, two corvettes came out to meet them and escorted them in with the Scotch bagpipes into Port Greenock, Scotland. That same night they were quickly transferred to a troop train and on to Aldershot, England. After two weeks in Aldershot, he was transferred to Algonquin Regiment 4th Light Armoured Division, 10th Brigade. When Walter was in B Platoon, C Company he received his first furlough and spent it in Edinburgh, Scotland. He remembered it being like a home away from home. The regiment spent considerable time in training. They were also on alert for air raids - it did not matter what time of day or night. London was bombed the most. In February 1944, the regiment spent two weeks training at Inverness, Scotland for the invasion of Normandy. The regiment then returned to Heathfield for a rest period. They all got a week furlough. This time Walter and his partner spent their leave in the northern part of England away from the sirens and air raids. In July 1944, the regiment was transferred to London to board a ship for Normandy, France. They landed on the beach in Normandy without too much resistance. The next night they had their first casualty, their sergeant major got shot in the foot. The destination was Caen, the front lines of Calais, Carpiquet Airport and Falaise Gap. After three weeks on the front lines they were relieved by an English Division and the regiment was moved to Caen for a rest period. That night in August 1944, instead of a rest, Walter’s platoon was mustered for night patrol the objective was Hill 96. As they got close the patrol got ambushed by a German rear guard action. The platoon was either killed or wounded; Walter was among the wounded. As the German Army moved the wounded away, Walter was taken prisoner of war. He was taken to a first aid post which was in a Catholic convent. From there he was moved to a Paris hospital. It was also occupied by the German Army. He was treated for wounds and two weeks later, he was moved from there with the rest of the prisoners. They were loaded into a boxcar (that was their transportation) and only moved at night as the Royal Canadian Air Force bombed every moving train. Days later, he landed at Dusseldorf, Germany at the Red Cross first aid station. Walter was held there, had his wounds treated and the bandages changed. At this point he had an operation on his wrist. Two weeks later the Red Cross station was hit by a bomb, the cook and kitchen were blown to hell. Walter was moved to Frankfurt, Germany which was Luftwafe German Airport and held there for a week. From there he was moved to Munich and on to Friesing with his destination being Stalag 7A prison camp. After three weeks, living and travelling in a boxcar, the stalag was a welcomed sight for Walter, even though it did not promise a hell of a lot. After recovering from his wounds, he was asked to go out on work detail parties and as they were allowed more food, Walter went. The company was then transferred to Munich to lay railway tracks after every bombing. The railway track was the prime target, so every morning at 4am they were called out to board the train for Munich and they were lucky to be back by midnight. Walter stated: “Our Christmas dinner was a piece of horse meat, what part don’t ask, because I was there to help butcher the poor animal.” In February 1945, Walter was moved with 79 other prisoners to a forestry camp to look after wildlife. They were under German guard and if anyone tried to escape, they were shot at. As the war drew to an end, they were not allowed outside of the compound. One morning, a week later, the American Army came to the village and liberated them. “Quite a sight! The gates were open and nowhere to go.”, Walter recalled. He was transferred back to England by US plane; his first stop was the delousing tent to get rid of freeloaders. In 1945, he was transferred back to Canada and in September 1945 he was demobilized back to civilian life. Walter’s five military war medals include: the 19391945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal of England, the Canadian Voluntary Service Medal and the Defence Medal. He returned to Fisherton where he resided with his wife, Kathy.
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