A Tribute to
Patrick McGarr
25 Feb. 1918- 25 July 1944.
Age 26 years
click to enlarge
On September 1, 1939, Hitler's army
invaded Poland thus beginning six years of bloody conflict. On September 3,
1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany and on September 10, 1939,
Canada came to Britain's aid by declaring war on Germany. On October 27,
Brigadier H.D.G. Crerar arrived in London to establish the nucleus of a Canadian
Military Head Quarters. The call went out to all Canadians to come to the aid of
the free world from all walks of life.
Patrick Francis Wafer Joseph McGarr
was born on February 25, 1918, the second oldest of nine children to Matthew and
Elizabeth McGarr. He had five brothers and three sisters. He was born on the
family farm on Conc. 7, Puslinch Township, where the present Milburn Auto Sales
is located. Patrick went to the
Downey Road School in Puslinch and then to barbering school in Hamilton. He
joined the army in early 1942 and did his basic training at Camp Borden He was
Rifleman B97177, the Regina Rifle Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps.
Patrick was sent overseas in August, 1942.
On June 6, 1944, the D'Day invasion
of Normandy began with the Canadian and the British forces embarked from
Portsmouth and landed at Juno Beach amid fierce German resistance. The British
and Canadians fought their way ashore with support from warships and aircraft.
Their objective was to destroy the German communication centre at Caen by June
10, but heavy German defence made progress slow.
By July 9, the Germans had retreated
into Caen and it was taken. On July 18 the Western Allies launched the first
phased Operation Goodwood for the capture of Caen suburbs. An attack was
launched by a hundred bombers over the German defence. Much of the city was
destroyed and as many as three thousand Frenchmen were killed. Then the
artillery opened fire, four hundred guns in total, supported by the naval
gunfire of two cruisers, and the monitor ship, HMS Roberts, whose fifteen inch
guns had last been fired in action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. British and
Canadian armoured forces then moved forward. The barrage was so intense that the
ground forces could not move for fear of being hit, but at the appointed time
they did.
To the West the roadways with their hedgerows were extremely dangerous
because snipers could easily hide in the thick trees. Small platoons would break
into the fields with a tank equipped with special cutters to do battle.
On
July 25, the Americans launched Operation Cobra in Normandy, breaking out of
Cherbourg Peninsula because of' major British and Canadian assault on heavily
defended German positions on Verrieres Ridge between Caen and Falaise. They were
subject to fire from all sides. Mining tunnels and ventilation shafts allowed
the Germans to move inside, behind and along the sides of their advance. The
superior German tanks devastated their ranks with over 1500 casualties, of whom
about 450 had perished. Except for Dieppe, it was the bloodiest day of war for
Canada.
It
was on this day that Private Patrick McGarr was killed.
He was buried in the Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in
France, plot 16, row C, grave 8. It is a well kept peaceful cemetery surrounded
by a corn field.
Patrick's
grave site was visited in July 1992 by his brother. "The beauty of the
cemetery and the great respect, friendship and assistance shown to us will not
be forgotten".
Our
thanks to Patrick who was willing to die in a foreign land that we may have the
choices we now have in Canada.
Our thanks also to the McGarr family who provided the personal information.
Steve
McGarr would like to talk to anyone who served with or knew his Uncle Pat.
Robert McFarland
Puslinch
Optimist