Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 77 Joseph Edmond was born in Cape Breton in 1925 and served Canada throughout Europe during WWII. This is his story as told by his friend Bob Ankrett. I first met Joe Edmond on a damp cold afternoon in April, a tall athletic looking man with steely eyes. I wanted to speak to him because we (R.C.L. Branch 60 in Burlington Ont.) needed information regarding the 17-pounder antitank gun that sits in front of the Burlington Legion. The gun itself was badly rusted and we intended to try and conserve it for future generations. What happened next was not what we expected. For me, as time went on, Joe became the gun, both heroes in the truest sense. Both had seen younger and better days. Both were proud and tough. Joe started his story as a 16 year old coal miner in Cape Breton, the year he volunteered for service in 1941. Joe felt he did okay that year at Camp Petawawa with the 2-pounder and 6-pounder guns. Christmas of 1942 found Joe in England and by January he was in Aldershot and then up to Scotland for mountain training. All very exciting for a soldier of 17! On 10 July 1943 Joe was in the second wave going into a dusty, hot city called Pacino in Sicily with the rest of the “Hasty P’s” (The Hasting and Prince Edward Regiment). He was in the First Anti-tank Division, 51 Battery, D Troop. The German resistance was ‘fierce’. I asked him what it was like firing the gun and Joe replied, “It was like being on a bucking horse. You just hold on after hitting the firing button. I didn’t fear man or beast when I fired that gun – the Germans feared it.” Joe recalled nearly being hit by a creeping barrage of Canadian artillery. He and his buddy shook hands, said goodbye to each other, and waited. Luckily the barrage went past them and not on them. He, like other Veterans I have met, swallowed hard when talking about the men who didn’t make it back home. He was surprised he made it through Sicily, Italy, France, Holland and Germany. Joe proudly explained how he and the gun had pushed back the famed Herman Goering Division and silenced feared Panther and Tiger tanks. Some memories haunted Joe, like the enemy pill boxes on the Moro River in Ortona, Italy that were buried with soil pushed by tanks with bulldozer blades…. “Are those poor guys still in there?” Joe’s brother was killed in action in September 1943 when the U305 hit the HMCS St. Croix with 3 torpedoes. She sank in 3 minutes. When the HMCS Ichen picked up the 81 survivors, it was also torpedoed. Only 3 survived. Joe said, “After that, all I wanted was revenge.” It was not all combat and Joe has fond memories of the other Nova Scotians who helped each other no matter rank or unit. “How many boys from Nova Scotia can have Mount Etna erupt into a volcano on their 18th birthday? Quite a show!” Joe came back to Canada in December 1945 and worked at Stelco for 36 ½ years. He is an active member of The Royal Canadian Legion and now lives in Stoney Creek Ontario. My chat with Joe Edmond took place many months ago. Since then the 17-pounder, that like Joe, saved so many Canadian boys, has been transformed. Rust was removed and holes were patched. A highly durable, military colour paint was applied. The insignia of Joe’s artillery unit has been placed on the blast plate. Joe gave it his OK on 27 September 2014. I know that because he had his photo taken beside the gun and asked me to be his ‘loader’. I am always struck by the sense of duty, honour and selfsacrifice of the man. Heroes are not just on TV or in history books but alive and walking amongst us. Heroes like Joe Edmond. A Featured Veteran Story JOSEPH EDMOND Joe Edmond (beret) with Bob Ankrett
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