Second World War veteran looks back at her military career with fondness

BARRHEAD - Nearly 80 years after Ruby Hoag enlisted in the Canadian Army, she said she still has no regrets.

Hoag, who is now 98 years old and lives at Hill Crest Lodge, joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) when she was just 19 years old.

"It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made in my life," she said, adding that Veteran's Affairs has been very good to her over the years.

Originally from Edmonton, Hoag came to Barrhead with her parents in 1928 when she was just three years old.

"They came with horse and wagon, when there were no roads, going through swamps and ended up on a homestead between Camp Creek and Campsie," she said.

Hoag added she worked on her parent's farm and attended a log schoolhouse in the middle of the bush and, for a short time, the school in Campsie.

"I also went to a school as long as I could before I went to the city with my mother for work," she said, adding the options were limited.

"No one from the bush went to high school. We couldn't afford it," Hoag said, recalling the first job she had was for her neighbours as a farm hand. "Milking cows and so forth. I got eight dollars a month for it."

She said she worked various jobs in the city for about three years before eventually settling in at the University of Alberta Hospital as a nurse's aide.

"It was a great job, and I really liked it," she said.

But as much as she liked it, and as much as the hospital's nursing supervisor tried to convince her not to leave, Hoag quit to join Canada's war effort.

"I enlisted at the Currie Barracks in Calgary, joining the WAC [Woman's Army Corps]," she said, adding that she had just turned 19.

However, she had to wait an additional two weeks at the barracks before being sent for basic training because Hoag did not have her birth certificate, and they would only let her officially enlist once they received it.

Basic training was in Kitchener, Ont.

"It was in the spring [of 1941], and it was just beautiful and like nothing like I had ever seen before as a prairie girl," Hoag said.

However, one of the most memorable things about the experience happened during her off time, when she and another trainee, a girl from Saskatchewan, had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Niagra Falls with a wealthy family.

"I remember them taking us to their church in a buggy with these two beautiful palomino horses," Hoag said.

After basic training, Hoag was sent to Vancouver to wait for her assignment, which was at a military base in Prince Rupert.

"It was a pretty important place at that time," she said, noting she arrived after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbour. "So they poured a fair bit of money into Rupert. People might be surprised that there were upwards of 13,000 American troops in the bush around little Prince Rupert."

Hoag was stationed in Prince Rupert for over two years with 128 others from the Woman's Army Corps.

"The women stayed in two long barracks, and they were a special group of ladies from all walks of life. It was a great experience, and I'm glad I got to be associated with them," Hoag said.

For most of that time, she was a canteen stewardess, but some of the time she spent serving in a ration supply depot.

"Because we were right on the coast, and Canada and the United States were worried about a Japanese invasion and being attacked, especially by submarines, there were troops with guns, antiaircraft artillery, in caves and other secret locations, and they would run out of food and other supplies, and they would have to get in touch with us, and we would fill their orders," Hoag said.

When Hoag first enlisted, she earned what seemed to be a staggering amount of 90 cents a day, but eventually, when she "earned her stripe", her pay increased to $1.25 per day.

As memorable as her experience stationed in Prince Rupert was, one of the memories that stands out of her wartime experience happened not long after she completed basic training.

Hoag, along with a small group of other WACs, were waiting for the train that would take them to Vancouver; they looked up to see a car full of German prisoners.

"They looked so young, maybe as young as 14," she said. "I felt so bad for them, especially this one who looked so sad. They were just kids. You can be darned sure that they did not want the job they were tasked to do."

After the war, Hoag said she considered staying in the army, as she had hoped to go overseas, but with the war, that was no longer a possibility.

"But it was a great experience and one I am glad I had. Joining the army was probably the best decision I have ever made."

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com