"CHARLYNN TOEWS-

- Unsolved mysteries -
my XACT LY WHERE did oi old cat Nel.

“son go for days atime only to return

omy | ‘home smelling. liked ‘smoked: salmon?
d We asked him repeatedly. arid he would ,

“only ee or aon “I've. been to London lo visit . i j

A the tape ‘and find out: But ‘Nelson: ‘could. .
“Ship. out of any cal collar, harness, or-even, Once,” .
a, complicated fold-up: cardboard cat-carrier. ‘He- '

“vas like Houdini ‘with claws! °

os Twas reminded of Nelson the: ola cat the other
» day when opening a tin, of tuna.:He. would. trot os

-briskly-tot the kitchen whenever he heard the sound :

-Of a can Opener (elécitic. or: manual) because.ive -

“used {6 feed him canned, cat food.-In ‘later years,

“we switched io dry. (better for his. teeth) but for’ |:
othe remaining decade of his life he still:ran tothe «.
«kitchen just in case. (He was an ‘over! y-Optimistic me
~eat.). Whe: we aceidentally- ‘got anew kitten, (it “
* happens!) she would run, to the-kitchen with him; -
always, a

though she had no ‘idea why. She.
“dry. food cal (Better: for her teeth).

Jo And-vho left that: little mosquito joke. magnét : Fs
“on our-front door in the:early 90s? It.reads: "Re" ']
“cently # large. mosquito i Anndedt at the. ‘alrport. An.

i . “Sure; give it to. the thrift store y you.
“say, “but. that: means: THE & UACKET 7

ay HAS WON.’ ° °

f "unsuspecting serviceman ‘pliniped 500 gallos of
>. pas-into it”. And: there isa cartoonish: mosquito f°:

By JENNIFER LANG.

1 Jrrou VE never feltan enemy's
bullet. whistle overhead -— you,

TERRACE STANDARD

The Terrace Standard, Wednesda

don’t know what. it was like on ©.

.. fe front lines.

Second, World ‘War veteran tte .

-Lindstiom kriows. oo
“He served sith the Royal Canad: “
“ah: Artillery,. wading ashore.in Sicily, “
on July 10,, 1943; ag 8 part of Operation
Husky.” na
ot Hels. proud to: say “he’s 3 a D: Day
4 Dodger — a soldier. who wasn’t part

“of the Allied invasion of ‘Normandy ” ic
eo fe

There was a a catch; yo had to join
“they anriy,.Hewas 22, °° *:
~ When war. Was ‘declared. the fol.
on lowirig year, hé stayed in the army.»
ots Roboy knelw. the war ‘would lake :
many 80. ‘long.
cto We Were: c-poing’ we 0. ‘over. ‘and ;
aren blow. the: Germans i away in 24 hours

: YY ne ih oo.
> paid: vacation, with ‘friendly ‘dames and, pack it up and: go. home,” “Lind- ~

‘| and the floiwing beer: They:took Or-
»_ tona.— ‘known in realid as -“Litli¢
-Slalingrad” in stride,

+ onJune'6, 1944. ~
- The term was meant as a slur, ‘Bui
“ the D-Day’ ‘Dodgers: embraced their’.
* nickname, and even cameé:lip with, a
“= "'song — - Sing to. the tune of “Eili'N
; ai ‘a 8 popular German ditt

: Now:88, Lindstront ‘hing few.sou-
ow veriirs of those days. Just his Service. ©
“medals; i aworn ‘army pay: and service
J} record ‘book,’ and one ‘badly. faded: -

-, photograph of hitnself and his moth-

homestéad.

“oti the Depression, Lindstrom jumped
“a boxcar bound for aconstruction job
et Prinee’ Rupert balding: For Bar- i

Strom says. “Five ‘ye ye
later,’ ‘we firtally’ did the job." wot

» Local boys signing. up-iost: touch.

quickly: as Ihey. became absorbed into oe
“Campaign” because. .it’s: avershad.’

* owed by. Normandy, even though it

“the military machine:.”
"... Lindstrom was. initially stationed
“at “Manitaba’s ° Camp. Shiloh, as. an”
“ ‘attillery instructor, Inearly 1942, he -

genre. in Aldershot: England.
1n.1938, during the lat’ ‘ean years -.

-irresist-.’

B
some: beautiful: dance. places. ** Be:
preferred: Scotlish reels, waltzes and: -
polkas to that *) ame, and jive! ‘swing oe See

BO ye “expect, to do. anything:in-Italy,” he” Js
say: Canadian - forces” " eventually’
made thelr way north Gver hundreds

oe of f-Englaid for the: sun and dust, ai
wet OF: kilometers of: impassable, hostile»

and mud of: dealy.

Ttaly:is.- ‘called. ‘ete Forottén «

held 20 German divisions at: bay as--

the- ‘Allies. siommed. ‘the beaches ‘in aa

France.”

“We split ‘the German cirmy on
one side, and the Russians-had them,

on the other side, We had some of the |
- German's top troops in Italy’ D-Day —
"was long over before they could get. -

them back to the Westém Front”? >

-The campaign lasted 20 -months,: }° -
and ‘hen it-was over the bodies .of ~ |”.
‘Nearly . 6,000 Canadians Tay” buried. as ae

theres:
.. He was.25-or so = sracticaly an *

old. man -compared.t to the teenaged.
- Teoruils he taught, - ae
i His time in: England was: “unievent- ue
~ ful He'd: travel to Scotland's dance:”
halls: when he had. time off —
os ibly’ ‘sophisticaled . to."a: boy” from. a. have

town with unpayed streets and w oe

. "We are e classed” ‘asia forgotten 5h
> army's ~ period,” che: says without self ;

pity.
“Ouiratliudé a as. sfaras aicoarnplish: 2

driving: out: the: fascists and: ending re
“Nazi influence, | ae “
-] don’t:see ‘how: anybody. ‘could .

terrain ‘mountains, ridges and rag-

“ing rivers. Towns were. reduced: to.

“In wint ig equipment got

ment'is’ concerned, if'it:hadn*t:been © o
for: the ‘army. in. Utaly,, D-Day would

wl 93,000 ‘Canadians : or
“Were: “part of the: campaign. They're
~ credited’ with playing a-majér role in-

: ~.er, Erima, outside the family’s Remo ~:

|> pictured, This was left on our front door for. us to: |”

' discover, and; laugh’at. We; ‘waited for the, joker . po
.tovask:us-hoiv we liked it, or-to ‘explain: vhy itp.
‘|: needed. to be attached to our front door: that par- . .

“ticular day, We are still waiting. .

Whose jacket:i it this?.It was: ‘eft here over five’
“years ago! ‘Immediately: it becainie: @ mission for"
“Sme’ to figure out whose it-was; and 1 asked. every: |
: single person # knew. over the course of one’ win-
“ter. Some:l asked twice ‘and three times and: they:
“would: Teply, “You asked me that’ already,” you.
“'made-me look at The Jacket, it’s ‘not mine, ] tell”
“youl!” My. Fusband slarted getting: suspicious.of . |
:-my zeal louncoyer the: provenance: of The Jacket, -[.

: but Lwas. determined!”

“. ALisa: thick, jacket, it Was cold that winter, haw :

ould you pop: ‘in: vedring. a.warin: Winter: coat
nd ‘leave without il? How: could a. ‘person. walk

round for the’ next couple: of days_in the Freez: -
“cing weather and. not want'their. coat ‘back? It is
“meditim-sized, unisex; ‘blue ‘and green and’ still, 1
hangs | in'my.closet to ‘aggravate. me about once a. |.
véek: Stire, give it to the thrift sfore you say, but *'f.
that: means ‘THE JACKET: ‘HAS WON, and I am: ;

not going. to tet that happen:

Then there is the.mystery of the. dozen lorie: -
te mmed redr roses delivered to my door, I Phoned of

+ Then ti there i is. ‘the: mystery of me | - 7
dozen *: ‘fong-stemmed*™ red. roses , . -

delivered to my: ‘dost,

the Aorist ¢ shop and ihey: either ida’ t know ory
wouldn't say. According | to the vard, the flowers. oat

were. from ; a ‘secret. ‘admirer: «: at
: “'The- card’ read, simply,“ secert,

. sure sign of innocence. T'can "t recall what ‘physi-.

= the: incident: -
“Although” Nelson the

“afew years, after living’a full slong! 18 years, -

“Kip the: kitten: (now. ten years old) continues. .
“trot: briskly’. to the. kitchen when. she hears a-can’

being’ opened. ‘She: stilt. doesn’t-know' why: Ts 8”
~thé-watk of Nelson ‘the Mystery: Cal, deceased. |
- And now. we'll ‘never ‘know: vhere he. went ‘for |
he didn't ‘ring a any. .

his smoked salmon, and. w
“hoine. to p share,

“erm: front and. spent tights steeping.

Id eat. has ‘been dead oF conitig a bil-Jax, so on Apel 23,"

~-of us convinced ‘our guards loallow us to go to’a. ”

“was drafted to‘an artillery training. _

~ SANDY SANDHALS .

. _ Continued Page Bo a

_ SANDY SANDHALS: (left), Fred Annett (earite)-a and ‘Thomas Simpson ight) were” among
Canada’s veterans who served | in ‘the Second World! War. boas

| REMEMBRANCES

eaders share uo stories

“T2L YEARS of age [ enlisied on Aug,

23, 1943. 1 took advanced training.at -
~ Currie Barracks, in Calgary, Alberta.
1 -arrived: ‘in England” “February, :,

- “1944, ‘a private -in'a reserve. battalion ‘for the ~
‘Calgary -Highlanders, landed -in France in late: :
~durie, 1944 anda couple, of ‘Weeks: ater became
“a reinforcement for: the: North” “Nova? Scotia. .’-
Highlanders,” who. had. suffered: heav casualties.
: . sifice. D-Day. _ : :
“yes, that’s ‘is
AS tight, “the gift Was: from someone who. couldn't .
|: spell ‘‘secret.” Okay, it was 30 years ago, I was in |
-sprade eight. asked everyone in my. junior-high I.
“thought. capable of such a thing, all denied it: My «J
parents had’ to-swear and promise'they didn’t do
- {0-1 salon my-younger sister and fickled hér: mer: a
-cilessly and she still didn’ t confess,-so that-was a.

Ltook: part i in. iho lengthy

During April 1945 as. ‘the allies: adyanced,to- -

“eal punishrient.[ inflicted on.miy older brother to’, "wards us we were marched away from the’ West."

-~ get the same satisfaction he had no knowledge of

a

n- fields or”

* Olt gliards were fairly’ sparse’ aad ere: fe be. : ‘days after. being wounded, He was ¢

1945," ‘a couple... athe Royal: ‘Canadian ‘Legion: ‘for: ‘more - han: ete

years and alteiided. many: tegmental. reunions . dom, Fam proud: [ dnly swisti 1 had met him.”

Jj

seonearby farrito’ stea some chickens; they: ‘agreéd. .
(they: were nearly: as hilingry as.w
-we went, bul not for chickens, and after.a.cou-
ple. of days: ‘avoiding. the possibl lity of recapture.)
(Hitler? § orders were to kill all POWs) we mel up
“witht the advancing American forces: :

Our first friendly contact was’ ah ‘American

it. sticeesstill battle’
Fog. ‘Caen’ but on-the drive’ towards ‘Falaisé, the:
» North Nova Scotia Highlanders’ on July 23, 1944.
“attempted to capture the town of Tilly, 20 2 --
- 2 We and the ‘Germans ‘suffered heavy sasinllied -
“: ‘and we were unableto hold our “objective. During’)
Sthe battle 1 was “wounded and taken, prisoner ‘and:
: spent. the next nine months as a prisoner. of war.

were) so off:

~ jeep, its driver co: ‘driver: ind a colone! complete ‘ 7
ta 28h Armoured Regiment (BCR).
9A 1985 ©

with a large cigar. Whata ‘wondrotis sight!

“Spent VE Day” in Belgium, efiroute to Eng: a
sland,. arrived: back in Canada in Jaly;, 1945: and Le
" received m

dischar eon Aug, 23; 1945.

SHOMAS. “SIMPSON “ined” up” in in

a “Netto, B.Csin‘November:of 1941

“in Brussels, Belgium in 1944,-He-was

20 years. ald at the time. and. a gunner. in a Sher
Ts “than tank: : .

-He was ‘discharged’ in 145 2 as he was declared.
“vial after hé. was wounded: March thy: 1945 Ins

Veen, Germany... 2.
“He 'was-held prisoner by the Germai t

‘in Vancouver, the homie of. the Brilish Columbia
Régiment (Duke o of Connavght's 's Own Rifles). : :

any ‘Sth: 2003,,

“Below is: what is. 0 ‘hig metnorial. brie al
the: Juno Beach Contre. in Courseultes-su-Mer,

France: oe

(Sandy) S Sindhu. i:
! “Thomas Ve Simpson.

He is pictured here’ in. a photo : taken a

away: from ca er ani Feb 1

R 71 262 “Tor Thomas Simpson MiD

. Northwest Burope

Wand Simpson, pprouel daigher of tie late v

2 "WALTER PARKER

2 World: War T-afid the “Second: World
oF: War, but Walter Parker, my. ‘grandfather;

. ‘did:. a
Walter: Parker immigrated ta. Canada : ‘from -.

“England. before. WW -and “enlisted 1914 in

: Saskatchewan. Hé-was a Vimy, Ridge -vet,.was.
“gassed but still: Farmed: back | it Suskatchewan, af
let ‘the wai; : *

When. Www2 attived:h he. became active againi- ;

! 24 suarding German POWS at Lethbridge, Alberta, a |
“>: Fora man who was the Junior roller skating. [>

hampion’ of: Eniglanil and ‘fought. for our free.

He:-died, before E'was bom # neatly. death, :

Continued Page B11 7

"OT. MANY: war, vels Sérved in: othe oe