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Those
who were conscripted into the army had to take three or four months
of military training. After that, they were released. Initially,
COs did four months of service and then, like their military counterparts,
were released back into civilian life. In March 1942, however, the
government decided that COs would serve for the duration of the
war. Ben Bergen recalls the shock and sadness when the COs received
the news.
“One
group of COs who were there before us since the third week of
November, was due to go home during the third week in March. Expectations
ran high as our time to leave April 8, 1942 was drawing near.
Letters were written home asking them to meet us at the railway
stations. It was early in the evening of April 7, 1942, when the
office clerk came to our bunkhouse with a piece of paper. He had
a grin on his face. We followed him to the bulletin board with
overwhelming curiosity. He walked straight to the bulletin board
and pinned up a letter, then walked right out again. The letter
read that the Federal Government had passed a law that all armed
forces as well as COs were in for the duration of the war. As
the men crowded around the bulletin board, the full impact of
the message became evident. Sad faces displayed their discouragement.
What now? Phone calls were made home to notify loved ones that
we would not be coming home. Many tears were shed during a bad
night. Work the next day was a sad scene. Men shoveled gravel
while tears ran down their cheeks. After a week, letters from
home arrived showing tear blotches on them. As for me, being single,
it did not affect me that much. I had been in work camps before,
cutting pulp wood in northern Ontario.” [ASM, 55-58]
Looking
back at the history of the war, we just assume that everyone knew
that the Allies would eventually win. This was not the case. In
1942, the victory was not at all assured. One CO, who served first
at Montreal River and then in BC, remembers when he was called up
to serve for the duration of the war. At that time, “duration” seemed
like a life sentence.
“We
were released after 3 months and sent home, but within 3 months
we were again called up to serve in the BC Forest Service for
the duration of the war. Now being a conscientious objector
to war took on an entirely new meaning for me, because the word
duration could mean one year or it could mean 10 years
or more.” [MHC, 1015-52]
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| CO camp on the Kootenay River |
Aerial view of Radium, BC |
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