The Dental Corps.

For some reason, nature did not endow me with a pair of feet that was not optimal for marching. These feet were not made for marching. If I couldn't march, the army decided to make a potato peeler out of me. So instead of joining my fellow recruits on endless marches, I was assigned to perpetual K.P. duty, which entailed endless hours peeling potatoes. If you are ever invited to our home for dinner, I hope you'll note how well the potatoes are peeled, thanks to the craft I learned in those Army years.

It seemed like it took quite a very long time to learn my fate. Maybe because I decidedly formed a great dislike of having to get up at five A.M. to help the cook to prepare breakfast. He could take a nap afterwards, while I had to do the dishes.

Finally, my new orders came through; the Army transferred me to the Dental Corps. They decided to post me to Victoria, British Columbia, where I would be attached to the Casualty Retraining Center. I was working there when Canadian and British troops were sent to the C.R.C. to recover from their experiences in the Japanese prisons camps from which they had been liberated. I would never have believed the terrible condition they were in, if I had not seen it myself. Unbelievable, most of them were just skin and bone, their teeth were knocked out, some were missing limbs, and most had T.B. I saw many a nurse crying over the conditions these men were in; many died from their condition. Man's inhumanity to man! They say war is hell, but what the Japanese did to their captives was beyond belief. The cruelty they imposed on helpless captives should disqualify them from the human race. Later, when we learned of what the Germans did to the Jews, it sure justified the Nuremburg war trials to punish the people responsible. So much for war!

While in Victoria, I got to celebrate VE Day, Victory in Europe. The usual staid British subjects pulled out all the stops. Girls were kissing the service men, especially the sailors. I even got a couple of kisses myself. It certainly was a day to remember. I joined many buddies making the rounds of the local taverns. It was the first time I was ever drunk, and I had a lot of company. (If you ever get to travel in Canada, I hope you'll visit Victoria Island. It's a little bit of England, in Canada.)

The first thing I did the next day was to sign-up for service in the Pacific, where the action was still going on. As a Canadian service man, when you joined up, it was for the war in Europe. Canada declared war on Germany in 1939, the day after Great Britain did. Pearl Harbor didn't happen until 1941; Canada also declared war on Japan at that time. However, you were not expected to serve in the Pacific, you had to actually volunteer for that service. After seeing what the Japanese did to our men, it was not a hard decision to make. I was issued a special arm patch that indicated that I had volunteered for the Pacific theatre.

The Canadian Army was mostly a volunteer army. Although there was conscription, only those who volunteered had to serve overseas. If you volunteered as I did, you received a special arm patch that was a circle with the letters GS in the center. This identified a "General Service volunteer". My service number was K2668. Those who waited to be called to service were issued service numbers with eight digits'. Volunteers referred to them as "Box Car Numbers" This was the policy of Mackenzie King, who was the Prime Minister of Canada when the war broke out. It was an unfortunate decision because it created great animosity between the troops. Toward the end of the war this was changed. However, very few, if any, of the Box Car troops ever saw any action.

Having volunteered to serve in the Pacific, I was transferred to an Army base in Chilliwack, B.C. where I was to serve in a dental clinic until arrangements were made for the training with U.S.A. troops, for joint service in the Pacific. My understanding was that this training was going to be held at an American Army Base, somewhere in the South. As usual, things always seemed to get confused in the Army. I received notice that because I was considered a non-combative, I would not have to take the training in the USA. I was to remain in Chilliwack and await further orders. I assume that somewhere in my file it mentioned my bad feet. (No doubt somewhere it said "Not suitable for jungle warfare". Little did they know I still had my Army issued rifle in my duffle bag.

During my service in the Dental Corps, I worked in a number of dental labs along with other dental technicians. In Chilliwack, I was the only dental technician. I developed a great relationship with the six dentists I worked for. They were a great bunch and always included me in their activities on and off the base. Although I didn't know at the time, this would be important to me after I left the Army.

It seemed that only a few months later we were celebrating V.J. Day, Victory in Japan. It seemed that not only was I not going to the Pacific, I was not to see any overseas duty at all. I was ready and willing, but it was not to be; at least not now.