Story of a Veteran

"There were times when I was just plain lucky," says Cliff Fryers of his time as a lieutenant during the Second World War.
Fryers, 90, is one of more than 700,000 people who enlisted in the Canadian Forces between 1939 and 1945. As a student at the U of M, Fryer's joined the university's contingent of the Canadian Officer's Training Corps--a unit in the Active Militia of Canada, which prepared undergraduate students to qualify as officers. He turned 21 in August of 1942 and soon began making plans to enlist.
"I had long since made a decision in my mind to volunteer, because I felt the war was so serious and the situation was so serious, that I should take part in it on behalf of Canada to the extent that I could,"
Fryers says.
He trained as an officer cadet in Quebec and graduated as a second Lt. in February 1943.
After more training in Alberta and at CFB Shilo, Fryers was told he'd be going overseas. He was given a short leave in Winnipeg, during which he got engaged to his girlfriend June. But duty to his country was at the top of his mind, so Fryers was in England by his 22nd Birthday.
On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), Lt. Fryers was attending a flame-throwing school when Gen. Eisenhower announced that allied troops had landed in France. Fryers was sent there as part of a group of reinforcements for The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, and taken ashore to a camp a mile or two inland from where the invasion occurred.
"The Lts. were platoon commanders while we were on shore there, but I don't think we would say for a minute that we took a platoon with us up front. No, everyone including those who were in the platoons would be sent up individually, or in groups, or whatever, as the need arose. When you get quite a few men shot, wounded or killed, then you have a need for reinforcements."
During the summer, two of Fryers's fellow Lts. and friends were called into service with the battalion. He was called a few days later.
"I reported into headquarters there and of course enquired about my two buddies, how they were doing. They had been killed already," says Fryers. "That was quite a shock, but that's the way things went at that time."
Fryers didn't have long to grieve. One day early in his time with the battalion, he heard the sound of an approaching German mortar. He dove for his trench, but the exploding shell sent a piece of shrapnel that ricocheted off his helmet.
"The steel helmet had saved my life of course, cause if that piece of shrapnel had hit my head, it would have taken a big chunk out of my skull."
In October 1944, Fryers’s time in the service ended when a German sniper’s bullet went through his big toe. It didn’t hit the bone, but put him out of commission for the rest of his stint overseas.
Almost 70 years after the war, Fryers finds Remembrance Day even more significant.
"Remembrance Day is so very important to me. It didn't used to be when I was younger: I didn't really absorb the fact that I was getting so much older when so many of my friends hadn't made it out of the war."
Fryers says he sympathizes with young people today who don’t understand war. He says he found it just as difficult to understand the First World War when he was young.

Graduation Day: A Short Story

Ben felt like he was floating on a cloud. While he slept, he felt so free, as if he hadn't a worry in the world. Suddenly, the roar of a passing bus on the street jolted him awake. He stretched, yawned and propped himself up on his elbow. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so rested. Ben wondered why his alarm hadn't gone off. He glanced at the clock and almost fell on the floor. "Oh crap!" he said. "8:30?" He half sprinted, half jumped towards his mother's room and flung open the door. "Mom. Mom," Ben shouted, "grad starts in half an hour." He started to explain about his alarm not working right, but she cut him off in mid sentence. "Oh my god. Get your good clothes on and I'll make you a piece of toast or something. What in the world am I going to do with my hair? Oh, and can you call Grandma when you're dressed?" Ben was dressed within about a minute. It was amazing how fast he could get something done when he had to. Of course it would take a bit of time to tie his tie, but he'd worry about that later. Ben dialed the phone hesitantly, knowing the conversation wouldn't be easy. "Hi Grandma, its Ben." "Who?" said his Grandma in a loud voice. "It's Ben. Your grandson." "Oh Ben. Where are you? You're late." "Yeah I know. We overslept, so you're going to have to take a cab." "Take a stab? A stab at what? You know me. I'll try anything." "No, a cab. You need to take a cab to meet us at the church." "Oh well, okay. I'll do what I have to do. There's no way I'm missing your graduation." "Okay Grandma, see you there." "My hair? Of course I'm going to do my hair." "Bye Grandma," said Ben exasperatedly and hung up the phone. He looked over at the clock again: 8:45. Ben rushed into the kitchen to see if he could hurry his mother along, but she was nowhere to be found. He poked his head out the door and scanned the driveway. He was surprised to see his mom waiting impatiently behind the wheel of her car with the motor running. They set off down the street and Ben prayed they wouldn't get a ticket. He knew this grad thing was important to his Mom—and who was he kidding, it was important to him too—but he didn't want them both to be killed just getting there. They rounded a corner onto the main drag. As they drove past the train tracks, Ben noticed it was 9:00: just about the time when the grads were supposed to be lining up. "Please let them be behind schedule," Ben said to himself. "Thank god I have a last name that starts with Z. Hopefully they won't get to my row for a while." It appeared as if luck was on their side. Just as Ben was about to relax, he could see a train chugging along in the distance. At the site of the train, his mom threw her hands up and groaned. After a couple of minutes of heavy breathing and helpless looks at Ben, she finally decided to break the silence. "I've been waiting for this ever since you were born. You've been through 12 years of school, and now because of our stupid clocks and this train, we're both going to miss your graduation. What if you don't get to cross the stage? What are we going to do?" This was the first time today Ben had seen his mom lose her cool, though he didn't blame her for it. "Mom," he said calmly, "I know how you feel. This is important to me too, but complaining about it isn't going to make time go backwards or that train move any faster. Besides, there's like five cars left of the train." "And now we’re going to be almost ten minutes late," she cried. "It's okay," replied Ben. "I always knew there was an advantage to being at the end of the alphabet." His mom smiled as the last train car disappeared from view. She gunned the engine again, and before Ben could tell her to slow down, they had reached the church where Ben's grad was being held. "Quick," she said, "you get out and get in there. I'll find a place to park." Ben did as he was told. He burst through the door and ran straight for the back room off the sanctuary. "What's your name and where have you been?" asked an impatient-looking woman in a business suit with her hair in a bun. "Ben Zanalouski." "Good. We're just getting to the Zs now. What's your gown size?" "Uhhhh ..." "Never mind. This will work. Here's your cap, here's your gown, now get in line." Ben found his place in line and began to march with his fellow graduates. As they filed past the audience, he felt something hanging around his neck; this whole grad ordeal had prevented him from noticing it. He had forgotten to tie his tie.