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Washing Dishes
April, 1945
Akyab, Burma

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Washing Dishes
June, 1945
Ramree, Burma

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During our frequent moves, mail from home was rather slow. Sometimes, several parcels and letters would come at once. It was so nice to have canned food, Christmas cake etc. and the letters with news from home. I wrote home regularly, and numbered the letters so my family would know if any were missing. We received more cigarettes than we needed, so with those cigarettes, plus what we got at the canteen, we sometimes put them in containers with the supplies for the troops in the jungle.

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Mess Hall
April, 1945
Akyab, Burma

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Food was plentiful but rather boring. We ate a lot of scrambled eggs made from powdered eggs. Australian or New Zealand canned bully beef was a staple. The cooks tried to disguise it as best they could but it was still bully beef. The bread was supplied by the Indian army and had a lot of weevils. Local fruit like bananas were available. Sometimes, when we had to eat outside, it was necessary to watch out for small Sheik hawks because they would try to take food off of our plates. Our drinking water was brought by tanker trucks or "bowsers." The water was really chlorinated but we got used to the smell and taste. We made sure our canisters were kept full and always carried them with us. At mealtime, the medical officer would hand out anti-malaria tablets called Mepicrin. They were a very bright yellow and soon our skin took on a yellowish tinge. We were also required to take salt tablets because we perspired so much in the heat.

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Our next move was further down the coast to Ramree Island to a place called Kyaukpyu. This was also a port. When I was helping unload the tents that were to be our homes, I pulled on one of the ropes. It happened to be the loose end and when someone lifted the weight from the other side, I fell off the truck and broke my right wrist. They took me to the field hospital and the next day the doctor was able to set it and put on a cast. He said to come back in about two months to have it removed. However, after six weeks the heat and sweating made my arm so itchy, I decided to soak the cast off. The wrist was a little stiff but I had a tension bandage put on and soon was back to normal. (I left the hospital around noon after having my wrist set. That night some Japanese planes came over and bombed the harbour and hospital, but I did not hear what damage they caused).
When we were off duty, we could volunteer to go with the planes to help unload supplies by being "kickers." If the plane could not land, the containers were just kicked out the door. If the cargo was barrels of gasoline or oil, the plane would have to land to unload. This was done as quickly as possible so that the planes could return for another load. As there was no fighter cover to protect them, the DC3s were flown at near tree top level. Once while flying low, my cousin, who was a navigator with another squadron, was standing in the open door of their plane when a bullet from ground fire went through the brim of his hat.

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Maintenance on a DC 3
1945
India

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Ramree was one of the hottest and wettest places in the area. The average yearly rainfall was 225 inches and the daytime temperature was near 120 degrees Fahrenheit. At night, it would cool down to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We were there during the monsoon season. It was cloudy with poor visibility which made flying difficult and some days impossible. There were a lot of severe up and down drafts. On one occasion, a wing tip was snapped off but the pilot was able to land safely.

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Morning Shower
June, 1945
Ramree, Burma

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Our main form of relaxation and entertainment was swimming in the ocean during the day and movies at night in the outdoor theatre. We had small oil drums for seats. Sometimes the monsoon rains would start up suddenly while we were watching the movies. It would pour for a few minutes and when it stopped, the heat made the steam rise all around.

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Old parachutes used for shelter
June, 1945
Ramree, Burma

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The Japanese were being driven back and when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, it was basically the end of the war. When the war was declared over, we received orders to close up the armament section. Each member of the squadron had been issued either a revolver or a rifle. These were to be turned back to us so we could clean and pack them away. After this, we just waited until there was space on a plane back to England. On arrival, we were stationed at a place called Down Ampney in Cirencister. I stayed there until it was my turn to fly home in June 1945.
Before leaving South East Asia, the education officer interviewed me to learn about my plans for after the war. My father was a jeweller and optometrist and because I had a colour vision problem, I thought I would take optometry. On discharge, one could either take gratuities in a lump sum or it could be applied to further education. I applied for optometry and was advised to raise my algebra mark. After doing this, I entered the Toronto College of Optometry in 1947. The tuition and most of the room and board were paid for by my service gratuity. I graduated in 1950 and practiced optometry in Wetaskiwin until I retired in 1989.

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In 1988, my wife Dorothy and I joined a tour organized by the 435 and 436 Squadrons Association. It included a visit to Singapore, Thailand, Burma and China. While in Burma, we went to Mandalay and Rangoon. The country did not appear to have changed much since the war. The presence of a military government seemed to keep the economy depressed. A few days before we arrived in Rangoon, students had been rioting and we saw evidence of damage.
On one of our trips to Japan, my wife and I were with a group travelling by bus. The driver pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. We were all given small Japanese flags to wave out the windows. Apparently, the Emperor of Japan was driving by in his limousine. I thought it rather ironic that we had been fighting the Japanese in the 1940's and in the 1990's we were waving Japanese flags.

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Rod and Dorothy
13 September 2004