SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A 99-year-old Summerside veteran received a "warm hug from the nation" through a Quilt of Valour for his service on the frontline during the Second World War.
Wallace J. Palmer served as a medic on the Western Front in 1943.
“I remember carrying a wounded Canadian soldier with his khaki-coloured clothes by stretcher, and because we wore a Red Cross band on our arms, the enemy was not allowed to shoot at us on the battlefield. But, this didn’t stop them from raining down bullets on the fellow on the stretcher and – unfortunately – this happened a lot,” he said.
Palmer was 20 when he enlisted in the Canadian army. He received special combat training, which he described as the “dirty group” to deal with rough enemy soldiers.
“Blood never bothered me because I saw so much of it, and eventually I got used to the noise of war,” said Palmer.
He received the quilt at Andrews of Parkhill in Summerside on Dec. 14 by memorial Silver Cross medal carrier Kathy Bulger and historian George Dalton.
Bulger received the Silver Cross after her son, Nicholas Ashley Bulger, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.
“Nick’s remains are buried in St. Brigid’s Old Roman Catholic Cemetery here on P.E.I. He was my oldest son (of three) aged 30 and married with two little girls,” said Bulger.
“When Nick was getting ready for Afghanistan, there was a lady sending parcels to the troops. She asked me if I would like to come and help with these parcels. This act of kindness would eventually get me through my son’s death,” she said.
That's why it’s important to her to present the Quilt of Valour to Palmer.
The Quilt of Valour was handmade by P.E.I. native Susan Paddock with love, respect and gratitude for Palmer’s sacrifice to Canada.
The tag on the quilt reads, “May the hugs stitched into the quilt give you comfort, strength, and love.”
“Nick was on General Jonathan Vance’s tactical team. We had sent him 21 parcels for Canada Day for the soldiers to decorate their tents. When Nick delivered these parcels he said, ‘my mom put lots of love in these boxes, so enjoy it’. The next day he was killed," said Bulger.
Palmer too is still haunted by the memories of war – many that he doesn’t talk about.
“I spent a long time in the hospital recovering from diphtheria contracted from a German soldier I was carrying over the border. There were many taken by ambulance from the frontline with different complaints, but I took a break after getting sick,” he said.
When Palmer was asked about the future, he responded, “I hope for a special prayer for all veterans”.
“So many of Wally’s friends never returned from the war," said Dalton.
"He wants a prayer to be spread by the Canadian Legions, as well as written on the Wall of Remembrance at the Credit Union Place to honour those that served, and to heal those that remain and live with the scars of war.”
To learn more about the Quilt of Valour, visit quiltsofvalour.ca.
