- Private Raymond John Gagnon
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Private Raymond John Gagnon
The son of Aimee and Emile Gagnon came to Rathburn, Ontario (Monck Road) from Alberta as a boy. The family operated a small strawberry farm onthe 12th Concession of Mara Township.
A happy-go-lucky lad, Gagnon enjoyed joking with his siblings and attending community dances.
He made an agreement with his older brother that Robert would stay home to help on the farm while Ray enlisted in the army. He belonged to Guardian Angels Parish and attended Orillia Collegiate Institute for two years, after
which he went to work for the Tudhope Anderson Company.
Gagnon enlisted June 15, 1944. The recruiting officer described him as having
?above-average learning ability and is mentally alert...his manner is quiet and subdued.?
He went overseas on October 21, 1944, joining his unit, the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Armoured Division, in Europe on November 18, 1944.
Gagnon fought battles in Belgium, Holland and Germany. He participated in an attack through a heavily fortified gap in Hochwald forest in Germany. At three in the morning, the battalion advanced uphill into the Hochwald Gap behind
and artillery barrage. By the first light of day, the leading companies had fought down the eastern slope to a road where they tried to hold their position,
despite efforts by the newly-arrived 24th Parachute regiment to dislodge them.
Gagnon?s B Company took the brunt of the attacks and by nightfall had been reduced to 15 men. Gagnon lost his life in the action.
Private Raymond John Gagnon
Service Number: B/24458
Force: Army
Unit: Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise?s)
Enlisted June 15, 1944
Shipped overseas October 21, 1944
Died February 28, 1945
Age at death: 23
Cause of death: Killed in action, Germany
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