227 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca OGIBOWSKI, Roger WWII Roger was born in 1922. He enlisted on January 12, 1943, at the age of twenty. Before heading overseas to England for further training, he trained in Portage la Prairie, then Shilo, Manitoba on the “big guns”. Roger was assigned as Gunner to the 5th Canadian Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. By July 1944, he was serving in combat in France. He then was assigned as Lance Bombardier in 1945 and assigned to the 6th Canadian Field Regiment. From France, Roger would later serve in Holland and Belgium. At the end of the war, Roger volunteered to help with repatriation in Germany. Roger returned home and was discharged in January 1946. He was an exemplary soldier, and his commander noted that he was “well-suited to battle”. But, he came home forever scared and changed by the horrors and losses of war. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, 1939-1945 Star and France and Germany Star. Post-war, the VLA assisted Roger in purchasing a farm near Minnedosa. Roger had post traumatic stress disorder for the remainder of his life and rarely spoke about the harsh realities of war, sharing few stories. He did recount rarely getting his proper rations, horrible deaths of friends and strangers on the front lines, and a few treasured moments of kindness and humanity. Roger was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Minnedosa Branch 138. Shortly before his death in 1991, he wrote the following passage about war. Remembrance Day – A World War II Veteran Looks Back I remember… I was seventeen years of age, just a kid in a small, cozy, peaceful community. I remember… The unbelievable, restless, rumbling rumours of war, far away and remote, and then, the chilling reality. The announcement by Prime Minister Mackenzie King: “War is declared…” I remember… My enlistment, the tearful departure from home, the bravado, the confusion and adjustment to discipline and battle training. Only three months and then to England; from there action in combat. Vivid is the memory of that very first duty, a three-man observation post on a hill in front of our gun battery (a formation of several troops in an artillery regiment). Our duty was to spot and/or destroy the enemy movement of tanks. I remember… The agonizing crawl forward, the frenzied digging of slit trenches, “the holes”, the terror. I watched and saw the utter mental and physical “breaking” of strong men. I still can feel the cold, the wet, the constant weariness of the trenches. I remember… the friendships established in the everyday fight for survival. Deep is the imprint on the battlefield, the land, the rest spots, the towns, cities and villages, the destruction tattooed upon my heart and mind. I remember… The desperate plight of people in the midst of strife. Old men, women, children… all people, real people, the fearful, hurt, and hurting, and I remember the dead, yes, the dead. I remember… Our last shot, “a tracer” at midnight when we heard the news, “THE WAR IS OVER”. I remember…Too, the return home, the tempestuous welcome, and so very soon, the reality and shock of adjusting into a world that was changed. A world where you were desperately trying to find a place. “We” had changed too. We kept a secret of the scars and injuries of war. The reoccurring nightmares, the horrible haunting memories, as if this were a weakness too shameful to acknowledge. Some of us took refuge in the oblivion of “drink” and were labelled as “dead beats” or “misfits”. I remember… the value of The Royal Canadian Legion on behalf of and for war veterans and their rehabilitation. These are facts, my friends, not stories, and not at all the silly combat war games for youth with leisure. Those who went to “War” went with purpose – “for freedom and country.” It was won at a terrible cost. On Remembrance Day, we will remember to value our freedom and our country.We pay tribute to those who served our country and remember those who died. The Royal Canadian Legion Veterans hold high the torch in faith to pass it on.
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