William Bell's Story:
Going Home
On September 8th, 1945, we were transported to Tokyo by train. At
1200 hours we boarded the USS Ozark and shipped out for Guam. We arrived
in Guam on September 12th, 0700 hours, where we received medical
attention and new clothing. I convalesced there for two weeks before
being shipped to Manila, Philippines where we received mail, telegrams,
advance on our pay, and further medical inspection. Our families were
given 6 Air Letter forms which were endorsed as "Mail for Liberated
Prisoner of War." These were to be used to send news, postage free, to
Manila. In the Philippines we were also interrogated with respect to POW
conditions and any information on ill-treatment with respect to war
crimes.
A telegram was received by my mother advising that we had embarked Guam
for Canada. I shipped out from Manila and, with a stopover in Honolulu I
eventually arrived at Fort McDowell in San Francisco, California on
October 2nd, 1945, 1200 hours. I boarded a train in Oakland, California
on October 4th, 1945, and arrived in Vancouver the next day.
Soon after the war ended, on Tuesday, April 2nd, 1946, myself and fellow
Winnipeg Grenadiers, John Pugsley and John Pollock, were interviewed by
the Winnipeg Free Press in regards to the heroism of Sergeant-Major John
Osborn, V.C. Photographs of us, along with John Osborn and his family,
were taken by the armed forces and included in the article shown below.
Sergeant-Major John Osborn was posthumously awarded the first Victoria
Cross to a Canadian soldier of the Second World War. I received a typed
copy of the article written by the Free Press reporter which I have
included below.
