J. P. Kreitzer

Abt 1925 -

• Name	J. P. Kreitzer
  Born	Abt 1925
  Gender	Male
  Military	WW2
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-173801
  Person ID	I173801	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

• Notes

  3 Local boys Back Home After overseas Service Walk Into Record Office, Then Telephone Families the News of Surprise Arrivals Telephones rang almost simultaneously in three Twin City homes yesterday and through them could be heard as many voices exclaiming "Hello folks, I am back from overseas." This is how Pte. R.R. Heller, Waterloo, Cpl. J.P. Kreitzer, Kitchener, and Pte. E. F. Brodrecht, RR 2, Waterloo surprised their families. It was late in the afternoon when three hardened men in khaki walked into the editorial room of The Record and said "we have just come back to Canada. Could we use a telephone?" The request was quickly granted but when one was handed an instrument he sheepishly remarked: "Gee, I forget how to work this gadget. Would you dial it for me?" A reporter obliged and a moment later trembling hands were holding receivers as once familiar voices now made strange by more than three years absence were heard again. It was hard to convince one mother, though, and soon her soldier son feverishly beckoned a reporter, saying "mother won't believe it is I, tell her I'm home." The happy parent was assured her son was back in the Twin City and she excitedly exclaimed: "I have been waiting for a letter from Italy for over two weeks … I don't know what to say … Please let me speak to him again." Although Cpl. Kreitzer's arrival gladdened the heart of his wife, who resides at 151 Homewood Avenue, his home-coming was engulfed in a cloud of gloom. His mother died Thursday. This sad news reached him as he arrived at military headquarters in London. Kreitzer enlisted with the 24th Field Ambulance in July, 1940, and a year later went to England. Illness prevented him from accompanying his unit to the Mediterranean area and ultimately was responsible for his return to Canada. Not Fond of Italy Heller and Brodrecht have come back from the front lines in Italy. Like Kreitzer they have been low categorized. Preferring to remain silent on matters pertaining to battle experiences, both men, however, did open up enough to deplore conditions in Italy. "People back in Canada just couldn't imagine the filth and poor sanitation that existed in that country," they said, adding that much of it was caused by Allied shelling and serial attacks. "Sometimes the stench followed our advance for five miles," they declared. Brodrecht discounted what he called "travel agency r\\propaganda," which pictures Italy as a land of sunshine. "The fellow that started that yarn must have been there on an exceptional day," he said. "Practically all we saw was rain and mud." This soldier also referred to the saying "see Naples and die." He remarked, "well, I have seen Naples and I still don't want to die. We have many more beautiful cities here in Canada." Pte. Brodrecht enlisted at London with the R.C.R.'s but was posted to another regiment when he reached Scotland. He fought through the Allied conquest of Sicily and landed near Reggio during the invasion of Italy. Blown Off Hill For some time he remained in the front lines and then one day as his company was advancing up a hill a Nazi mortar shell exploded blowing many troops into the valley below. Brodrecht regained consciousness 48 hours later in an emergency hospital. He was taken to North Africa and England for treatment before being dispatched to Canada. Asked when this action occurred, the infantryman replied: "I don't know. We never kept track of days, weeks or months over there." He had nothing but praise for Allied troops and confidently predicted they would oust the Nazis and win their objectives. Brodrecht also paid high tribute to British, Canadian and American air forces, "You can't beat the boys up there," he said. "They sure have cleared Italian skies of Goering's Luftwaffe. Pte. Heller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Heller, 232 King Street North, Waterloo, enlisted with the Oxford Riffles in 1941 and went overseas a year later. He missed the Sicilian campaign and landed in Italy. Serving with the Canadian 1st Division, attached to the 8th Army, he too became a casualty. He joined Brodrecht and Kreitzer in England. Asked what stood out most in his mind during his period in service, he unhesitatingly exclaimed: "Being torpedoed in the Mediterranean." He went on to explain: "They had an entertainment for the troops every night on the way to Italy. Every night I'm about the 100th guy in. This night, about six o'clock, I'm one of the first guys in." "This time, I tell myself, I've got a good seat. Then I hear the captain shouting 'all hands on deck!" There was a lot of yelling and running, and I wonder what all the racket's about. "Next thing I know, me and a lot of other guys are in the water, hangin' on a raft. There's a motor torpedo boat not far away, and it came over and picked us up. We weren't in the water very long." Kitchener-Waterloo Record 30 Apr 1944