THE VANCOUVER SUN -

Top Mainstream Daily Newspaper Nov 11, 2003

Veteran sheds a tear for his brave colleagues lost in battle
By Lt Col Pritam Singh Jauhal (Retd) World War II Veteran
Remembrance Day is of special significance to me, because my late father and I
both put our lives on the line of fire, in the First and Second Worlds Wars
respectively.
Irrespective of different nationalities, faiths and cultures, when I fought in
North Africa during World War II as part of the 8th British Army, we all developed
comradeship, esprit de corps, and tenacity. Not only did we respect ach other, we
would have died for each other
Together, the Allied Forces, including Canadians, faced successive enemy air raids
intensive rocket, tank, artillery and small arms fires and we survived - Survived
when our ammunition supplies did not reach us on time. Survived when our rations
and water were cut in half and halved again. Survived when faced with the extreme
heat and dust of the Western Desert. Survived when private mail from our kith and
kin did not reach us for months.
Fighting as a well-knit team, with valour, determination and high morale, we
defeated the enemy in innumerable battles, inflicting heavy casualties.
I vividly remember that at El-Alamein in North Africa, supported by Royal Air
Force bombers and fighters and ground artillery, we launched a well-planned major
attack on the enemy, at its heavily fortified mountainous positions. All 350 guns
of various types we held fired 500 shells each on the enemy positions, prior to
the launching of an assault by our brave infantry men.
With rock-bottom morale, the enemy ran helter-skelter, leaving their dead and
weapons behind. After lengthy battle, which included hand-to-hand fighting, we
defeated the enemy, achieved our objectives and took thousands of prisoner of war.
Our troops had to launch the attack from flat ground on the high mountains held by
the enemy; casualties on our side were, therefore, heavier than usual. A large
number of our brave soldiers were dying and many bleeding profusely with deep
wounds. We did our best to ease their pain. We evacuated the wounded and sick to
the nearest field hospitals for necessary treatment and performed last rites for
those who had sacrificed their precious lives, leaving their beloved wives, small
kids and aged parents behind.
Remembrance Day is reverently observed, throughout the Commonwealth, at the 11th
hour, of the 11th day of the month, of each year, to remember the sacrifices made
by our men and women during the two World Wars. They fought to protect the
Commonwealth and preserve the democracy in which different people could live
together and enjoy freedom in peace.
Remembrance Day is celebrated in most Western Countries in their Legions, which
came into being in 1919, when Lord Byng of Vimy was commanded to oversee the
disposal of the United Services Fund, a vast amount of money that represented
profits made from purchases by the men of the Empire Forces out of their own pay.
Thus, the honorific “Royal” was applied.
The organization then spread throughout the Commonwealth, providing ex-servicemen
with a place of refuge in hard times and a place to meet fellow veterans in good
times. The Royal Canadian Legion came into being in 1925. The Legions in Canada
are for all War Veterans residing in Canada.
Let us not forget that it is only because of the supreme sacrifices of our brave
men and women in war that all of us, now living, are enjoying comforts of life and
freedom in peace. I fought along side those men and women who lost their lives,
and I was lucky to survive.
I consider their deaths my personal loss. When I remember those fallen friends, I
find it hard to control my emotions and cannot help but shed many tears come every
Remembrance Day.
Lieutenant Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal (Retd) is 83 years old. He lives in Surrey.