Albert Field (Primary Source)

Transcript

In the van area, truck rather, with about roughly ten of us in, to go over this hill and fill in this bomb crater, it took part of the road off and I guess they were going to use that for dancing. So anyway, we got over the hill and we got started to try to fill in enough as we could and we were exposed right to the Germans. So they started to shoot at us. And of course, we all dropped arms and got cover as much as we could and the Sergeant yelled to the driver of the car or the van, I should say the truck, and he wouldn’t get up. So I had the experience to drive a car and truck and that, so I jumped up and got in it and I drove it undercover of these trees a way down, 100 yards away I guess. And I went to get out and the Sergeant said to me, “Take it back to where we come from.” So I did. So anyway, when I got back there, the Sergeant was there and he called me and he said, “The officer wants to see you.” So I went in and he said, “Look,” he said, Sergeant said what I’d done and he said, “I’m going to recommend you for a medal.” But it never happened. I guess because I was from Nova Scotia and the regiment was from Ontario, they’d sooner have an Ontario boy get something like that. One of the other things that used to discourage me about war was we’d be moving along and the Germans would be on the other side of a field and the field would have cows and horses in. And they’d be firing at us and we’d be firing at them and the poor animals, they’re running all over the place and getting killed. But that was a big disappointment there for me. I didn’t mind our own men getting it because we can expect it. One other time we were in these woods and they started to shell in the trees there right where we were, this other guy, him and I would kind of crawl underneath the Bren Gun Carrier and one of the shells come down and move the carrier over about a foot or so and they stopped shelling and the other guy’s name was Joe Horning. He could speak German, he was a good guy to have with us because he could always talk to the Germans that we captured. Crawled out from underneath there and he says, “I think I’m hit.” And he had four shrapnel wounds on him. And I didn’t have a mark. So I thought, “God, I can’t get hit.” So he had to go to England and I didn’t see him after that, he must have been sent home after that. Shortly after the Sergeant died and I was leading the boys, the officer called me in to see me this one day, shortly after that. And he said, “You’re going LOB.” That’s Leave Of Battle, it’s for 10 days and you go to England. So I said, “No, I’m going to stay with the boys.” “Oh no, you can’t, you’ve got to go on leave.” That’s after so long on the front like that, you get what they call leave of battle, LOB. And I said, “No, I’ve got to stay with the boys because if I come back and they’re all dead, I’ll blame myself.” So anyway, he said, “No, I want you to go because we’ll be going out two or three weeks anyway and you’ll have to leave them back again.” He said, “And I’ll guarantee that’s what’s going to happen.” So I said, “Well, what the heck, you know, I’d like to go on leave too, you know.” So I said, “Okay, I’ll take a chance, but you’re telling me the truth now?” He said, “Oh yeah, you’re going to, you’ll be alright.” So I went on leave and I come back, they were out. I’m glad I did go because they were out doing basic trainings again, that was all finished when I got back.