Much to honour about our veterans and their sacrifices
Chemainus Valley CourierNov 25, 2018
I worked as a bartender in an officers club when I was in university.
It was called The Crow's Nest and was opened during the Second World War for naval officers who operated from
It was needed because these guys were part of the convoys that kept
The Germans were trying, with some success, to cut off
Hundreds of supply and navy ships were sunk during that part of the war, which was called the Battle of the
Unlike much of the rest of
Several cargo ships loading up with iron ore from mines on
With
I've heard numerous stories from the old navy men at the Crow's Nest about supply and navy ships running for their lives toward the harbour with U-boats close behind.
Realizing their prey was escaping, the U-boats would sometimes fire off torpedoes in an attempt to hit the ships before they escaped to safety behind the chain, and occasionally the torpedoes would grind up on the beach, just below where the Crow's Nest was located, unexploded.
It was a scary time for the people of
I remember the hushed and reverent tones the old veterans, many of whom I suspect have passed in the decades since I knew them, used at the bar when they talked about those times.
I was fascinated that so much action took place so close to where I grew up.
It's sad that there are fewer and fewer of these vets around to tell us first-hand accounts of the war years, and I see that as a loss for those who have never had the honour to meet and talk to them.
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