Two Minnedosa, Man. veterans receive France’s highest honour

MINNEDOSA, Man. — Two Manitoba veterans have been recognized by France for their service to Canada and Europe during the Second World War.

Alexander Abel and Fred Oberg were given the Legion of Honour, France’s highest national honour, at a ceremony at the Minnedosa Legion Monday afternoon.

Fred Oberg enlisted in April 1942, trained in Canada before being sent to Britain. He was sent to Normandy June 9, 1944 and saw action in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He was wounded by shrapnel and returned to Canada in late 1945.

“We miss the boys we fought with…we are thankful they were there,” Oberg told the packed room of about 160.

Alex Abel joined the Royal Canadian Artillery in 1942 and was part of the Normandy invasion, considered one of the pivotal events of the War.

In the years since, his family has helped the 93-year-old put together a history of his time in the military.

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It describes in detail the day troops landed on the beach on June 6, 1944.

“I know there wasn’t a man that landed that day who didn’t know whether he lived or died only that he was part of one of the largest military operations of our time,” Abel said.

“The first few days on the beach were very uneasy times. The first night I was on guard duty at midnight. German planes came in and dropped anti-personnel bombs…the bombs killed 24 men and wounded many others.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The first few days on the beach were very uneasy times. The first night I was on guard duty at midnight. German planes came in and dropped anti-personnel bombs…the bombs killed 24 men and wounded many others."

Clayton Searle was also mentioned at Monday’s ceremony for his service which began on July 8, 1940.  He passed away last year.