Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 107 continued ... Then we made our way to a small town on the south coast of England to make ready for the sea trip across the Channel. We arrived at this town on the day before Christmas and the local citizens, taking pity on us, decided to put on a big Christmas dinner in a church basement. Naturally the boys went for this in no small way and really appreciated it. The next day, we set off by sea craft across the Channel and landed in Ostende. This was Christmas Day and the good people of Ostende prepared another tremendous meal for us. What a tough time - three Christmas dinners in less than a week. We set out from Ostende in a long convoy and took up positions east of Brussels. We then began to advance toward the enemy and engaging them, found them extraordinarily tough and very resistant. After capturing some prisoners, we found under heavy questioning, that the troops had been told by their officers that if they were taken prisoners by the "Red Devils," they would have their tongues cut out. The red berets were given a reputation of being heartless and cruel, with no mercy. This, of course, was not true. No wonder the enemy was so resistant. Finally, the German forces were made to retreat and once we had them on the run, we were relieved by some infantry troops and we were sent back to England. Returning to Bulford, we began to regroup for our original role of crossing the Rhine, and we were ready for it. This was to be different than any other Airborne operation ever attempted. Firstly, it was to take place in broad daylight, which was something new. Secondly, we were not going to land directly on the east bank of the river as previously expected. So the whole operation was to be a first-time ever event and a complete surprise to the enemy. Just before leaving camp at Bulford, all officers attended a huge briefing session in the local theatre. Naturally, we were not allowed to carry any notes or orders; everything had to be committed to memory. Our Commanding General was Sir Richard Gale and he used large charts and maps, about ten feet square, to outline the entire operation. In the event that some did not land exactly where they were supposed to be, they could then take up the role of the troops with whom they landed. The broad strategy was that we would land behind the enemy troops about six miles east of the river. Their reserve troops were about twelve miles behind their front lines. We would attack those on the bank of the river from behind and set up a defensive force to prevent the reserve troops from advancing up to support them. Well, it all sounded pretty good, but I kept wondering about security and how much the enemy would learn beforehand. There was little time for worry as the theatre was completely surrounded and guarded by dozens of military police. In his final remarks, General Gale said, "Now gentlemen, I want you to go back to your quarters, get down on your knees, and thank God that Sir Richard Gale is leading this attack." Talk about confidence. Well, March 24th finally rolled around. It was a beautiful Spring morning with bright sun and about 20 degrees. We were taken to different air fields, remembering our plane numbers, our take-off times, etc. (No E.T.D.s!) I was assigned to a lead plane in a V of three. Behind each of the other two planes there was another V , so that we were nine planes flying in close formation. Arriving at the airport, I met my pilot who was an American major and began to compare my information with his orders. After hearing my instructions, he said, "Look, let us go on up to the Officers mess, have a couple of drinks and when we are ready, we will take off." Scary! Well, we finally did take off, a beautiful day for flying and jumping. I landed on a dropping zone (DZ) that was bordered on one side by thick woods from which was coming heavy machine gun fire. We returned continued ...
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