The Second World War ended just before Sundre resident Roy McCartney was to be shipped overseas.
"I was all ready to go," he said last week, adding his training as a rifleman in an infantry unit was complete and that he was stationed at the port in Debert, Nova Scotia at the time.
"And then the war was over."
But although the 92-year-old veteran was never sent into action against the Axis on the battlefield, he still nevertheless found himself unexpectedly embroiled in conflict right here at home.
Immediately following the May 8, 1945 declaration of victory in Europe, now commonly known as VE-Day, a riot broke out in the streets of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
What had begun as a celebration of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender ó which brought to an end six years of costly conflict ó rapidly devolved into carnage caused by several thousand servicemen, merchant seaman as well as civilians.
Deemed by the brass to be too well-trained to be decommissioned and sent back home, McCartney said he was among those who were tasked with restoring order.
"We were sent down to Halifax after the war was over to help with security," he said.
When the dust settled, 211 people ó 117 civilians, 41 soldiers, 34 sailors and 19 airmen ó were indicted for crimes connected to the riots, according to CBC archives. The Toronto Star reported in its May 9, 1945 newspaper that three navy men had died, including one who perished from alcohol poisoning.
Officially, the riots were blamed on lax naval authority. However, additional underlying causes have also been attributed to a "combination of bureaucratic confusion, insufficient policing, and antipathy between the military and civilians, fuelled by the presence of 25,000 servicemen who had strained Halifax's wartime resources to the limit," according to Wiki.
"Everybody was all riled up and celebrating and everything like that. I had to do what I was told until everything quieted down. It was what it was," said McCartney.
Originally from Kisbey, Sask. where he was born in 1926, McCartney attempted to enlist in Winnipeg in 1944 when he was only 17.
"At that time I was too young," he said, adding he was subsequently sent home to the family farm.
However, shortly after turning 18, McCartney said he found correspondence in the mail from the Canadian military, which directed him to report for duty. While he expressed a certain sense of pride for successfully completing his training, McCartney confessed being relieved about not having to ship out overseas.
"I was quite excited that I didn't have to go. Naturally I didn't want to go. But I had to," he said, adding a sense of duty had compelled him to enlist.
Before finally being officially discharged later in 1945, McCartney said he was sent to London, Ont. to work on the rails.
Although he worked at a garage in Reston, Man. for a period of time, life has long since led him out west, where he met his future wife Dorothy in Calgary in 1968. The couple has resided in Sundre for many years, where McCartney at one point even worked at the local school.
"We like it here," he said, adding the opportunity to go fishing or RVing is never far away.
