{"id":3514,"date":"2016-11-21T19:50:28","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T00:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/strathroycaradoclions.ca\/?page_id=3514"},"modified":"2022-05-03T22:39:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T02:39:39","slug":"leblanc-leopold-paul-charles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rememberourvets.ca\/index.php\/strathroy-cemeteries\/world-war-ii-stories-life-world-war\/leblanc-leopold-paul-charles\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBlanc, Leopold (Paul) Joseph Charles"},"content":{"rendered":"
Paul and Maria LeBlanc lived together on Ellor Street in Strathroy until Paul’s death in 2016. Maria maintains his memorabilia, including his collection of hand carved walking canes of which she is particularly proud.<\/span><\/h5>\n

A brief overview of Paul’s military career:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
“Paul LeBlanc was born on November 19, 1925, in Sept-Iles, Qu\u00e9bec. He enlisted in the Scottish Regiment<\/a> in Toronto in June of 1942. No one understood his French, nor did he understand the\u00a0English, so he transferred to the R22eR (Le Royal 22e Regiment<\/a> – the\u00a0Van Doos) at Valcartier, Qu\u00e9bec, for his basic training and was shipped overseas in the fall of that year.<\/span><\/h5>\n
He took part as a Commando<\/a> during the invasion of Sicily<\/a>, fighting his way up the horn of Italy. \u00a0He was then shipped back to England in preparation for the D-Day<\/a> landings in June of 1944. On June 24th he stepped on land at Juno Beach<\/a>, fought at Caen<\/a> and all along the coastal areas into Holland, and eventually into the\u00a0Hochwald of Germany<\/a> until hostilities ended on May 8, 1945.<\/span><\/h5>\n
Like so many soldiers of that terrible war, Paul was reluctant to speak of the atrocities he witnessed. Tears welled up in his eyes whenever events of that war were broached. Paul, like all of his comrades, represents the epitome of the valour shown in securing our freedom.”<\/span><\/h5>\n
Written by his brother-in-law, Hubert Timmerman<\/span><\/h5>\n

Leopold Paul Charles Leblanc: as related by his widow, Maria<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
“Most would say the little Leopold was dealt a bad hand early in life, losing his beloved mother at the fragile age of five. She died after giving birth to Paul\u2019s littlest brother who also sadly died upon entry to this world.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dThey told me that my mother wanted to see me. I remember seeing a lady carrying the baby down the hall. I didn\u2019t know that he had died. I remember my mom looking down at me from the bed and hugging me close. She said that God was calling her to be with him and that I needed to be a good boy for my oldest sister.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
Mr. Leblanc didn\u2019t know how to raise young Paul on his own and sent him to live with various relatives. \u201cI was an active boy and was much too much trouble, I guess.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI remember grade 5, I put this resin on my hands so I wouldn\u2019t feel the sting of the strap. When the teacher was giving me a licking, I was laughing. She figured out what I had done and next time turned my hands over. That was not very funny!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
Even as a young boy, Paul had an interest in the trades. He often stopped at a blacksmith\u2019s shop on the way home from school. There he helped out and was glad to make some money. Later on, having learned these skills would prove to be a valuable asset.<\/span><\/h5>\n
At 11 years old Paul was dropped off to stay with the Trappist monks at Mistassini<\/a> in Qu\u00e9bec. They had a junior seminary there.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI got in the door and a brother showed me to a locker where I had to put my clothes away and put on a brown habit. They shaved my head and told me I could not talk. I had to get up early in the morning to pray with them and to work in the Gardens and \u201cNO TALKING!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
That was hell for a kid.<\/span><\/h5>\n
Paul was with the Trappists for three years or so, in silence and work and prayer and SILENCE. He jumped at the first opportunity for adventure when they told him that they felt he did not have a vocation to religious life.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI went down to the ship lines at the harbor and saw someone washing the deck. I asked him where the captain was. He said that I would know him when I saw him. He had a white beard \u2013 an English man!<\/span><\/h5>\n
I said, \u201cMonsieur, I\u2019d like to join your ship.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
He said, \u201cYou look a little young to be 16.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dWell I am!\u201d, I told him.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201d What about your parents, what do they think about this?\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI don\u2019t have any\u201d, I said.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dAlright then, get on the boat!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dAnd that was it.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n

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He started doing odd jobs ranging from getting tea to swabbing the deck, and doing the laundry. As time went on he got more training<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI thought I was going to die of nausea.\u201d He was on the Canadian merchant Navy<\/a> for three years.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dWe were everywhere: the Black Sea, the Red Sea, Malta, Panama Canal, the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific.\u201d By the way, they didn\u2019t find out that he had lied about his entry age until 1958 in Germany, many years later.<\/span><\/h5>\n
Following his three years with the Navy, Paul returned to Canada eventually making his way to a shipyard in Hamilton, where he disembarked and found work as a blacksmith, proving his skill to a fellow French-Canadian who was a supervisor on the job. After a brief stay on an English base, the commanding officer realized Paul should do his basic training in the language he could understand. He was shipped to Montmagny, Qu\u00e9bec, on the St. Lawrence River. After living Montmagny, Paul went to Valcartier for further training. From there he was sent to Coefield Army base, in Qu\u00e9bec city. Then he went out to Truro, Halifax. He was sent overseas from Halifax.<\/span><\/h5>\n
As a British Command<\/a>o, Paul was a paratrooper and one particular jump stands out for him. \u201dWe were dropped too high, about 1200 feet, over enemy lines. The Germans shot all of our guys, most while they were still in the sky. I fell into the trees and hung upside down with a shot finger. I pretended to be dead for three days, while the Germans continued shooting in the trees.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
He was the only survivor of the first division that night. Those Trappist monks must have been praying for their young Leopold. Paul doesn\u2019t like to go into great detail about his life during these war years. However, he doesn\u2019t mind sharing that he spent plenty of time in the digger, the Army jail. The army prison was no picnic. Often men would be beaten and driven to complete exhaustion and collapse from their punishments. It seems Paul\u2019s lack of fear got him into lots of trouble.<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dOne time I was at an outdoor lecture and I fell asleep. The speaker, a captain, said, \u201dLeBlanc, maybe you can tell us what I just said?\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dI don\u2019t know, I was sleeping!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
He said, \u201cWell then, why don\u2019t you come up here and give the rest of the lecture?\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
Paul retorted, \u201dI could give the whole lecture, I know this stuff so well.\u201d Paul went on to challenge him saying, \u201cWhy haven\u2019t you been made a General. if you\u2019re so smart?\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dLeblanc!\u201d he said, \u201cTo the digger!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
One time in the digger the priest came to see me. I told him that the guards have been beating me up. Well, he reported them in the next day it got worse! \u201cFinally I got up with fed up and hit the guard over the head with a pail.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dTwo more weeks in the digger, Leblanc!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
Paul was not always getting into trouble. He was one to get things done and was often commended by his superiors for his skilled workmanship and his problem-solving ability. It seemed that there was not a problem that he could not figure out a solution for. During the war, many of the men were grateful for the showers that Paul rigged up with odds and ends.<\/span><\/h5>\n
Paul\u2019s philosophies are simple: \u201cThe Lord gave you a head to use.\u00a0 Use it!\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
\u201dListen to people talk and watch what they do, that\u2019s how you learn. That\u2019s how I learned.\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n
By Maria Leblanc<\/span><\/h5>\n

Trades:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Paul Leblanc did not receive a lot of formal education as we define it today. \u00a0He did acquire a high degree of skill in the trades. These skills were very useful to the Canadian Army. Paul served in the R.C.E.M.E<\/a>., the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers<\/a> from July 10, 1951,\u00a0August 10, 1964.<\/h4>\n

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Medals:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Paul Leblanc saw action in several military theatres of war, and earned several medals<\/a>.<\/h5>\n

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Paul and Maria LeBlanc lived together on Ellor Street in Strathroy until Paul’s death in 2016. Maria maintains his memorabilia, including his collection of hand carved walking canes of which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2295,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3514","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nLeBlanc, Leopold (Paul) Joseph Charles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paul and Maria LeBlanc lived together on Ellor Street in Strathroy until Paul's death in 2016. 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