37 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca BÉLANGER, Alphonse Gaudias WWII Alphonse was born in Selkirk, Manitoba in 1920. Private Bélanger, a Queen’s Own Cameron Highlander, landed on the beaches of Dieppe, France on August 19, 1942, a part of the Allied attack on the Germanoccupied port of Dieppe. Following the raid, Alphonse was originally thought to be missing in action. It was later reported that he had died of his wounds while a prisoner of war. He was 22 years old, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Alphonse Bélanger of Selkirk. He had two brothers, Napoleon and Paul, who were on active service. His final resting place is at the St. Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen, France. The Dieppe Raid was also known as Operation Jubilee and of the 6,000 troops involved, eighty percent of them were Canadian. Also known as the “Disaster at Dieppe”, it was the Canadian Army’s costliest day of World War II. Alphonse received the 1939-1945 Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. BERGMAN, Henry I. WWII Henry was born in Russia in 1925. He was a tail gunner in a Lancaster Bomber with the 158th Squadron of the Air Force. He volunteered for Japan after he came back from England. Henry was married with five children and two grandchildren. He passed away accidentally in August 2001, and was a member of Morden Branch #11 of The Royal Canadian Legion for 40 years. BERTHELETTE, Leon E. WWII Leon was born on April 10, 1926. He enlisted into the Royal Canadian Navy on August 8, 1944 at age 18 and took his basic training in Regina, SK, and was later posted to the Naval Base in Halifax. From there, he was assigned duties on the Destroyer St. Laurent and other ships patrolling the Atlantic supply lines to England. After many postings, Leon arrived in Halifax on VE Day and was amazed at the celebrations that sometimes turned into violence but was very happy for the event. He was discharged from service on November 7, 1945, and during a brief holiday at home he met Germaine Tardiff and married on January 5, 1950, and had six children (three boys and three girls). Leon passed away in 1998 and was a member of Pine Falls Branch 64 of The Royal Canadian Legion.
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