Locals Who Served

Willis Clifford Wentworth of Okotoks enlisted in 1942 and went overseas as an air gunner with the Royal Canadian Air Force. According to the Okotoks Review, Sgt. Air Gunner Willis Wentworth took part in bombing operations in advance of the Canadian troops landing on the beaches at Normandy on June 6, 1944, the day of his 22nd birthday. Later that month, after 20 flights over Germany, the aircraft Wentworth was in was shot down and all but one of the crew parachuted to safety. He was able to make contact with the underground Resistance Movement in Holland who helped him avoid capture. Wentworth was flown to England and then to a hospital in Vancouver to recuperate from a broken ankle and cracked knees, received in the parachute jump. He was given a medical discharge and returned to Okotoks where he went to work in the family store, Wentworth General Store on North Railway Street which was operated by his parents Cliff and Delphine. He later retired to Red Deer.

Flight Lieutenant Arnold Roseland of Okotoks served with the 442 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Roseland participated in D-Day on June 6, and provided air support to ground troops fighting in Normandy throughout the months of June and July. He was heading back to home base after one of these missions when he was caught in a dogfight with German planes over the Normandy village of St. Martin de Mailloc. His plane was shot down. He was first reported missing on July 13 and it was later determined he was killed. Read more about Arnold in the ‘Sacrifice’ section here.

Leo Munkholm of Okotoks served with the 13th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army. He landed on Juno Beach in the second wave of infantry at 1500 hours on June 6. His regiment offered fire support to the Regina Rifles. The 13th experienced fierce battles throughout June and July as they pushed inland. On July 28, 1944, the self-propelled vehicle that Gunner Leo Munkholm was in was hit by an anti-personnel bomb, caught fire and blew up. Gunner Munkholm suffered a wound to his leg, but survived and was sent home.

Leonard Ardiel was born and raised in Okotoks, the eldest son of Dr. and Mrs. A. E. Ardiel. He joined the staff of the Bank of Montreal in Okotoks in 1928. In March 1943, Leonard enlisted with the army and served overseas with C Company of the Calgary Highlanders. Telegrams sent to his family first listed him as wounded and then missing during the Battle of Normandy. It was later confirmed he was killed in action on July 19, 1944. He was 35. Learn more about Leonard here.

Six days after Leonard Ardiel was killed in action, William Alexander “Bill” Anderson of DeWinton was also killed. Bill enlisted with the Calgary Highlanders in June 1943 and went overseas in January 1944. Bill died July 25, 1944 from injuries he received in the unsuccessful attempt to capture May-sur-Orne in Normandy. He was 30. Read more about Bill here.

Two other local residents fought with the Calgary Highlanders in Normandy including Harold Littlefield of Okotoks and Robert Childress of Aldersyde.

Stewart Noble and his twin brother Jock both served in World War II. They were sons of W. E. and Marguerite Noble, who farmed southwest of Okotoks. Stew joined the army in January 1942 and saw service in Canada, France, England, Holland and Germany. A small notice in the Okotoks Review in August 1944 reported that Stewart saw action during the Battle of Normandy. 

The Okotoks Review also reported that Charley Sandeman of Okotoks also participated in the Battle of Normandy with the Royal Canadian Army.

Jack Milligan and Jay Hawthorne of Okotoks, Eric Goddard of DeWinton and Leonard McNally of Aldersyde enlisted with the No. 8 Canadian Field Ambulance of the Royal Canadian Army in Calgary. They served overseas, first in England, and then attached to Field Ambulance units sent to Normandy. Three Field Ambulance units landed with the infantry on D-Day each assigned to support specific brigades. Additional units arrived as fighting moved inland.

The need to treat the wounded as close to the front as possible meant Field Ambulance personnel coped with the barrage of enemy fire. All four from the Okotoks area returned home.

Stanley Hurst of Okotoks was quartermaster aboard one of the 16 Canadian minesweepers which cleared the lanes and swept the coastline for German mines ahead of the D-Day landings. Six of the 16 Canadian Bangor class vessels helped sweep mines from the path of the incoming fleet in the British and Canadian sectors; while 10 other Canadians minesweepers swept the waters in front of the Americans.

Chief Petty Officer Frank Baceda was loaned to the British Navy and served on a heavily armoured cruiser that bombarded the coast of Normandy for a two-week period. Frank worked for the gas company in Okotoks prior to enlisting. After the war, Frank moved to Lethbridge.

Ronald Rhine was born in 1925 to Lewis and Ethel Rhine of Okotoks. After graduating high school, he enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943 at the age of 18. Ron served on Motor Torpedo Boat 748 with the 65th Canadian Flotilla that guarded the flanks of the Canadian Landing Crafts when they hit the beaches on June 6, D-Day. Over the next two days, June 7-8, both the 29th and 65th Flotillas provided vital protection for Allied ships as they brought more reinforcements and supplies to Normandy.

Egerton King served as maintenance engineer with the 1st Canadian Landing Craft Infantry (L) flotilla as it brought troops across the English Channel to Juno Beach on D-Day. He was entrusted with the task of keeping the machinery and electrical equipment of Canada’s large infantry landing craft flotillas in perfect working order as men and supplies poured across the English Channel to the Normandy front.