The Canadian Army Journal

CALEPIN D’ESPOIR
DUFRESNE, Danielle and DUFRESNE, Emilien (Cahiers du Septentrion, 2003) paper,
136 pages, ISBN 2-89448-346-5.
Reviewed by Lieutenant-Colonel R.S. Williams, MSM CD
Little known is the war service of the many
young rural Quebeckers who took part in the
Second World War. It is truly fortunate that Mr.
Dufresne decided with the support of his daughter
Danielle to finally record, sixty years after his
experiences, his thoughts and feelings throughout
the war, which include a period in German captivity
after having being captured in the aftermath of the
Normandy campaign. Neither has much been
written about the long, and for many, fatal marches
that Allied POWs were forced to endure as prisoner
of war camps were evacuated and moved back and
forth across the remains of the Third Reich in the
last year of the war.
The early chapters of this first person narrative,
written in French, detail how young Emilien
Dufresne from Pointe-a-la-Fregate in the Gaspe
went about joining the army and describe his initial
impressions of military life. The fascinating and
thought provoking narrative is very readable for
those whose second language is French. This part
of the narrative includes the timeless anecdotes that typify the training experiences of
young men preparing to go off to war. The personal vignettes deal with homesickness,
road trips, and the not always understanding reactions of officers and senior noncommissioned
officers. All of these events, personal and often painful to relate even
years after the event, are dealt with in a tasteful and at times poignant or amusing
narrative.
This book is especially timely given the dwindling number of surviving French
Canadian veterans who took part in the Second World War as private soldiers. Mr.
Dufresne’s first-hand experience in one of these horrific and senseless marches across
an already defeated but not yet surrendered Germany provide a glimpse of the
memories that he has been carrying all these years. Were it not for books such as this
one, the accomplishments of many of Quebec’s finest young men would remain
unknown, perhaps forever.
I highly recommend this book to all those interested in the experiences of those
young men from all walks of life and all parts of Canada whose patriotism and/or thirst
for adventure led them to join the Canadian Army in the cause for freedom over sixty
years ago. This first person narrative will be hard to put down and can be easily read in
one sitting. A reader familiar with today’s Canadian Army will soon realize that soldiers
have a great deal in common regardless of the era in which they wore their uniform.
Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.1 Spring 2008 123