It has been 80 years since Elden Coleman went overseas to serve in World War II.
“When the jobs were done, a group of guys went to Calgary,” Coleman said, reflecting on the time he spent serving his country.
On July 23, 1941, at just 21 years old, Coleman traveled by troop train to Halifax, before taking a ship to England.
He would spend more than four years in Europe.
Elden Coleman was only 21 years old when he went to England to serve in World War II. Courtesy: Wendy Coleman.
Courtesy: Wendy Coleman
A natural athlete, he became a physical training instructor, teaching calisthenics, running, and unarmed combat, while becoming a full sergeant.
Read more:
A 97-Year-Old Southern Alberta Man You Should Know
“I loved what he was doing. Teach troops physics and get them fit to go to fight. “
“I was able to do a lot of things in the sport that I liked, which was track and field,” Coleman said. “I wouldn’t want to be anything else, if I had to do it all over again.”
Coleman taught unarmed combat while in the military and was a fairly accomplished boxer himself, even fighting a professional fighter. Courtesy: Wendy Coleman.
Courtesy: Wendy Coleman
Coleman remembers eating in London and seeing a German plane with a “drone bomb” – a drone loaded with explosives, destined to run out of gas and hit its targets.
“We would lay down in our barracks at night and hear one come … (then) their engines would stop and we would wait to hear it explode,” Coleman said.
Read more:
Cenotaph ceremony marks Remembrance Day in Lethbridge
And although he never saw the front lines, many of his friends and the men he trained did.
When Coleman returned to Canada in 1945, it was without his brother, Duane, who was killed in combat near the end of the war.
“They were going through a minefield and the coastal guns were firing, I don’t know how many miles that was, but they were firing on … this minefield where the troops were coming from,” Coleman said.
“One of the projectiles landed near the truck and the entire truck was killed.”
After leaving the military, Coleman returned to his hometown of Magrath, Alta., Working as a carpenter.
Still living there at the age of 101, he used Remembrance Day to honor those who served alongside them and hopes that others will take the time to appreciate the sacrifices that were made in defense of our freedoms.
“Having our country free is not like other countries.”
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca