By Nigel Maxwell

Nipawin veteran reflects on war years

Nov 10, 2017 | 12:02 AM

Jim Grandfield was only 14 when he first attempted to enlist in the armed forces.

“They told me ‘go home, grow up kid.’ I worked two years and I was still underage when I got in,” he said.

Despite his desire to fight overseas, Grandfield was told he would have to stay on Canadian soil after testing positive for tuberculosis. Instead of active duty, he was given the job of a truck driver; moving the troops from one place to another. Grandfield said he still carries a lot of regret not fighting overseas alongside his close friends.

“I was really upset and sore at the time, because all the fellows I had my training with never came back. I would have been in the Dieppe Raid,” he said

Grandfield is now one of only six remaining world war two veterans in Nipawin. He said the war represents good and bad memories for him but to this day he does not regret enlisting.

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“When you joined the army, you never think of what was going to happen to you because it’s a new way of life. We figured we would get to see the world. But once you get into it and you talk to the guys who have been through it, it’s something that stays with you forever,” he said.

On Saturday morning, he will join his fellow veterans at the Nipawin Evergreen Centre for the Remembrance Day ceremony. Grandfield said he feels a lot of pride being able to stand with them and reflect back on what the Canadian troops were able to accomplish. But the memories of his fallen friends remain with him as well.

“There’s about six or seven guys that as a kid we all went to the services and some of them came home and some of them did not… I’m the only one left,” he said. “There’s fellows that as a kid I played street hockey with and they are all gone.”

Grandfield has eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. He said they ask him about the war and he enjoys sharing his stories and showing them his medals.

The service at the Nipawin Evergreen Centre will start at 10:45 a.m. with doors opening around 10:30 a.m.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell