November 5-11, 2022 is Veteran’s Week in Canada. In order to honour those who have served, Good Samaritan will be sharing our residents’ stories and experiences serving Canada during the wars as members of the Armed Forces and beyond. Read Eric’s story below:
“I was in the militia because I was too young to enroll in the regular forces. I was a member of the sea cadets for a few years and then I joined the engineers which were the militia engineers.
My role with the militia was in demolitions, building bridges and then demolishing them. I remember when the Prisoner of War camp was in Lethbridge; at one time, there were more German prisoners than the population of Lethbridge! They brought the prisoners in by train to the camp. I lived on 5th Ave North, three blocks down the street from the camp. I always remember there would be four guards which were always veterans, and they would take about 50 prisoners at a time to Oldman River to swim.
I have been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 62 years. I was part of the Patrol Team and as a member of this team we would go to other Legions and perform the installations of the new officers of the branches.”
Eric was a resident of Good Samaritan Park Meadows Village in Lethbridge, AB. He passed away on October 7, 2022, at the age of 92.
