Vanyo, James John: my Army recollections (March 15, and 17, 2012)
PublicABSTRACT: Private/Trooper James John Vanyo Private James Vanyo served as a radio operator in ‘A’ Squadron of the in the Fort Garry Horse armoured regiment. The Navy was Jim’s first choice when joined the army when he was fifteen, but his tender years only allowed him into the army; after his eighteenth birthday he trained in England and crossed into Normandy on D-Day. For the next eleven months Jim battled with his fellow tankmen working the radios he loved so much. Jim heard the order to “stand fast” when his regiment held Oldenburg, Germany in May of 1945. By the time of this interview, Jim was eighty-seven and both he and his wife, Irene, stated that had the interview been completed two years prior, his recall would have been much more complete. March 15, 2011 Part One 0:00 Welcome 0:30 Leaves Mr. Little’s farm to join the army 7:00 Basic training in Regina 12:48 Illness delay 16:00 Camp Borden 22:25 Arrival in England 28:50 Preparation for D-Day 35:00 D-Day 49:27 Advance into France March 15, 2011 Part Two 0:00 The Falaise Gap 2:58 Wireless communications 5:35 Fellow soldiers 8:09 “Bretteville-sur-Laize Ridge” – action at the front (not actually Bretteville-sur-Laize that happened later– more likely during Operation “Totalize” or “Tractable”) 15:45 Operation “Totalize” 18:00 Comments on Canadian Army 20:05 New commander Wilson replaces Morton March 17, 2011 Part One 0:00 The Hochwald Forest (not in Normandy) 2:00 Moved to Hill 3 5:50 Knowledge about the overall plan 9:05 Carpiquet 13:15 The “tunnels” of Caen 14:00 Night travel 15:00 The “tunnels” of Caen 18:00 Germans running 20:00 Walking on a dead guy 22:30 The colonel anticipates an attack 23:30 Carpiquet 29:00 General commentary 32:00 Supplies 32:05 Return to Carpiquet 35:50 Cleaning up after the Germans 42:00 Returning to Bolougne 43:00 Refers to picture of tank column in Vanguard: The Fort Garry Horse Regiment; p. 85. 45:00 Resistance 46:00 Infantry/Tank relationship 48:25 Groningen, Holland 49:00 Nijmegen, Holland 51:00 RnR leave 53:30 Return from England 54:00 General reminiscences 58:00 Reputation of Sherman tanks 60:00 Detecting mines
An interview/narrative of James Vanyo's experiences during World War II. Trooper Vanyo served with the Fort Garry Horse Armoured Corps. Interview took place on March 15 and 17, 2012.Medals and Honours: 1939-1945 Star; France and Germany Star; War Medal 1939-1945; Canadian Volunteer Service Medal; Defence Medal
Interviewer: North, Steve
Interviewee: Vanyo, James John, b. 1924
- In Collection:
- Night fighting (Military science)
- Radio, Military
- Netherlands--History--Liberation, 1945
- Canada--Canadian Army--Infantry
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France
- Land mines--Detection
- Antwerp, Battle of, Antwerp, Belgium, 1944
- Canada--Canadian Army--Training Centre, 120--Basic Training (Regina, Sask.)
- Canada--Canadian Army--Leaves and furloughs
- V-E Day, 1945
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Personal narratives, Canadian
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Germany
- Canada--Canadian Army--Fort Garry Horse--Squadron A
- Canada--Canadian Army--Military life
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Belgium
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Netherlands
- Canada--Canadian Army Overseas
- Radio--Installation in tanks
- Wilson, E. M. (Eric Mackay), 1901-1960.
- Canada--Canadian Army--Demobilization
- Canada--Canadian Army--Personal narratives
- Tank warfare
- Bretteville-sur-Laize (France)
- Hochwald Forest, Battle of, Germany, 1945
- Canada--Canadian Army--Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
- Canada--Canadian Army Overseas--Main Training Base, Aldershot, England
- Canada--Canadian Army Overseas--Barracks and quarters
- Canada--Canadian Army--Training Centre, A33--Canadian Armoured Corps Training Establishment Camp (Borden, Ont.)
- Canada--Canadian Army--Canadian Armoured Regiment, 10th (Fort Garry Horse)
- Operation Totalize, 1944
- Nijmegen, Battle of, Netherlands, 1944
- D-Day, 1944 (Normandy invasion)
- Vanyo, James John, 1924-2011--Interviews
- Radio operators
- Canada--Canadian Army--Armoured Brigade, 2nd
- Camp Borden (Ont.)
- Morton, R. E. A. (Ronald Edward Alfred)
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Scheldt River
- Operation Tractable, 1944
- Communications, Military
- Falaise Gap, Battle of, France, 1944
- Boulogne, Battle of, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, 1944
- Groningen (Netherlands)--Liberation, 1945
- Operation Overlord
- Sherman tank
- World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Scheldt River Estuary (Netherlands and Belgium)
- Canada--Canadian Army--Medical care
- Caen, Battle of, Caen, France, 1944
- 3 sound recordings (MP3)
- 60.10867, -113.64258
- 49, 0
- 51.5, 10.5
- Original sound recordings (WMA) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- VJ_723
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- March 15, 2012
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 22 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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