Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 91 In 1939, Herman Daniel Melanson was a single, young man living in Doucetteville, Digby County, Nova Scotia. This was a time of depression with little or no work so Herman left Nova Scotia for New Brunswick in search of employment. In September 1939, a radio announcement completely changed his life. England had declared war on Germany! So, at the age of 23, he joined the Carlton York Regiment and was sent to Camp Borden in Ontario for basic training. Private Melanson was trained as an infantryman and learned to use the Bren gun and the machine gun. It was not long before he was sent to Debert, NS, then to Halifax and several days later he was aboard a ship on his way to Liverpool, England. After a short stay in England he was off to Algiers, Africa where he fought under the command of General Montgomery whom he admired greatly and was very proud when he had a chance to shake his hand. It was in Algiers that Herman learned that German General Rommel was a force to be reckoned with. Private Melanson left Africa with his regiment for the invasion of Italy. Upon arriving they seized the local airport although the Italians had already surrendered to the British forces and they were now fighting only the Germans. Herman fought in many battles in Italy and witnessed many of his comrades being killed or wounded. In Ortona, his company sergeant had been shot and killed as Herman laid beside him. Bullets flew all around him with one finally wounding him in the shoulder. A medic helped him crawl about 100 yards or more by coaxing and urging him on or he would have been taken prisoner as many others were. His Officer, Lt. LeBlanc, stood during this fierce battle and ordered his men to move on, but when Herman hollered to get down, they got down, but the Officer did not and died of bullet wounds. Herman’s mother received the telegram notifying her of her son’s wounds, but it took an additional 36 days before she learned how seriously he was hurt. Herman was treated for his wounds and sent to the British/Canadian 14 General Hospital in Naples. Following several more surgeries and a short term of therapy, he was returned to his unit at the front. Herman remembered vividly when the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, was captured, executed and hanged by his feet in the city square along with his mistress. In 1945, after a few days of very little information and very little food to eat, and only the ground to sleep on, Herman’s company was informed that the war in Europe was over. He and his comrades were sent back to England where they waited for a ship to return them to Canada. After his return, he was transferred to a base in Cornwallis, NS where he found work to be difficult because he was suffering from the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He married Gladys Pulley in 1956 and they had one daughter, Isabel, and one grandson, Alan Herman. During the time that Herman’s daughter was growing up, she felt something wrong with her father so she went to DVA and discovered that her father was receiving a small pension for the wounds he received but nothing had been done regarding his mental condition. After years of searching, Isabel finally received her father’s military medical records and discovered that his diagnosis was written as “suffering from PTSD”, thereby making him eligible for a disability pension. After 53 years, Herman Melanson finally received the pensions he was due, but retroactive for only three years. Herman Melanson
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