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Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Broker BRENDA CURLISS Sales Representative 326 Lakeshore Rd. E., Oakville (905)845-4267 E-mail: brendacurliss@cogeco.ca www.royallepage.ca/BrendaCurliss (905) 469-3232 Oakvilles Award Winning Retirement Residence We Gratefully Salute Those That Served Celebrate peacemakers in our community! Join us as we celebrate two local peacemakers Simon Harmgardt and Michele Braida by awarding them YMCA Peace Medallions. Keynote speaker: James Valitchka, a 15 year-old Oakville resident and award-winning writer and motivational speaker. YMCA of Oakville 410 Rebecca Street, Oakville, ON L6K 1K7 tel: 905-845-3417 fax: 905-842-6792 www.ymcaofoakville.com Charitable registration 11906 4400 RR0001 Sponsored by: Community Breakfast for Peace and Youth Expo Wednesday, November 24, 2010 7:309:30 a.m. Tickets cost: $12 per person or $108 for a table of 10. Available at the YMCA of Oakville or by calling 905-845-5597, ext. 530 (Visa/MC/Amex) Monastery Bakery and Delicatessen, FreshCo, Starbucks Coffee Company, Lassonde Oasis Juice, Summit, Kraft and Fortinos w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Th ur sd ay , N ov em be r 1 1, 2 01 0 4 After reaching England, Holbrook began extensive training, but eventually decided to transfer to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps because, he said, many of the Lorne Scots soldiers he was with were being assigned to administrative duties, something that didnt interest him. In the service corps, Holbrook was trained in the operation and maintenance of various supply vehicles and was also required to waterproof these vehicles in preparation for the day the Allies returned to Europe. We used to go to the English Channel and you could drive into the water so long as the water was no deeper than up to your shoul- ders, said Holbrook. It was all practice. We didnt know when we were going, but they were getting us ready for the crossing. In August of 1942 Holbrook and his col- leagues nearly got the opportunity to put these waterproofed trucks to the test when they were put on standby to take part in the largely Canadian raid on the German-occu- pied port of Dieppe in France. After the more than 6,000 infantrymen left England for Dieppe, Holbrook and his col- leagues waited on the British shore for the moment they would be called to deliver sup- plies. This never happened. We found out right away what happened to those boys, said Holbrook. The Germans were waiting for them and just shot them down before they even hit the shore. Of the nearly 5,000 Canadian soldiers involved in the raid more than 900 were killed with 1,874 taken prisoner. The defeat had a considerable impact on Holbrook. Several of his friends had partici- pated in the Dieppe Raid and were captured. The vicious reception the Canadians had received also caused Holbrook to wonder what was in store for him when his turn finally came to cross the Channel. Less than two years later, his time came with the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Holbrook arrived on a Normandy beach two days after the initial invasion describing a scene of thousands of troops, trucks and other vehi- cles pouring inland after disembarking off ships. He said at that point the success of the inva- sion was still very much in doubt. While he was there, the Germans were still able to fire on the beach. There was nothing, but shelling, said Holbrook. The British and Canadian troops were try- ing to get a foothold and the Germans had brought all their best troops up to meet them. After arriving in France, Holbrook travelled with Allied truck convoys transporting the sup- plies that allowed the front line soldiers to keep fighting. His trips took him through cities shattered by the fighting and past bodies and burned out tanks by the side of the road. While these supply convoys were often behind the lines and away from the battles, this didnt mean they were safe. Holbrook said the truck drivers had to keep and eye out for mines and pockets of German soldiers, who had managed to stay behind. Enemy aircraft also posed a great danger with Holbrooks convoy being subjected to air raids repeatedly during his time in France. We had a convoy that was parked for the night and the planes just came over and bombed the trucks. We had a couple of guys who were killed, said Holbrook. When we saw them coming, we would just get underneath the big trucks. We just prayed they wouldnt hit our truck. After weeks of fighting Allied forces finally broke out of Normandy and into the rest of France. Holbrook said this break out was his most memorable moment of the war because it served as a point of no return for the inva- sion. The Allies would not be thrown back into the sea as they were at Dieppe. Holbrook would continue to supply the Canadian military as it advanced through Belgium, Holland and finally Germany. With the end of the war, Holbrook returned to Oakville in 1945, marrying his wife Hazel in 1947. A veterans program helped him get a heat- ing and plumbing job after the war, which he worked at for a number of years eventually moving on to a job with the Department of National Defence. Holbrook has two daughters and four grandchildren. Looking back on his military service and some of the close calls he had, Holbrook is thankful he came out alive. Im pretty lucky I didnt get hit, he said. Veteran lost friends at Dieppe Continued from page 1 Speak up! You can comment on any story in todays Oakville Beaver at oakvillebeaver.com. Lest we forget While serving his country in Afghanistan, Warrant Offi cer Dennis Raymond Brown was killed at age 38 by a roadside bomb on March 3, 2009