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Wilson Dionne served in the Merchant Navy during World War Two. He was involved in the D-Day invasion of 1944.
Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker's recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
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Transcription
My name is Wilson Dionne, and I was in the Merchant Navy. I took part in the war from ’39 to ‘45. My first torpedo was on the Calgarolite, an Imperial tanker that was torpedoed in 1942 (9 May) around 2:30 p.m. in the Caribbean Sea. We were alone with the U-boat. So, we fired two torpedoes at them: one at the midship and another at the bow. As we were leaving the viaduct, we were garrotted. We had no defense. So that’s why they exploded. We had two lifeboats left. The one from the stern was launched first. We launched the second one from the bow at the bridge with difficulty because of the U-boat. When the torpedo floats, it has little spikes sticking out of it. So, we had to use a fireman’s axe to cut the tube underneath the rowboat so we could launch it. Just then, the U-boat circled the tanker. They gave us the time to get away a bit, and then fired another torpedo at the stern of the boat. The boat disappeared. The U-boat made two turns and left again, giving us a “hello.” It took us four and a half days of rowing before we landed on Pine Island, south of Cuba. We were there for two days. Then we crossed over to Cuba, to the city, and we stayed there for 15 days waiting for a plane to get back to Florida and from there back to Montreal. Then I left on an American boat and sailed for 2 months on that boat. I sailed back to Imperial aboard the Pointpillipatte. I spent a year sailing aboard the Pointpillipatte. Then, I went back on American ships. We crossed the Atlantic and we were torpedoed. Then I came back to my family and sailed again on American ships. That’s when I took part in the invasion in 1944, on the morning of June 6. We transported troops from England to France, and I came back from there to Canada to go back on a pack ship. I was torpedoed in the throat and had my right hand was injured. I was hospitalized for a year and a half and then retired from the Merchant Navy for a while. I got married, then in 1953-54 I went back out on the tankers. That’s the end of my story.
