HMCS Lethbridge

HMCS Lethbridge
By Garth Paul Ukrainetz

Published in the Lethbridge Herald, November 11, 2020

The wind on the prairie is blowing
On the Old Man, the trestle and train
The pronghorns are dancing and prancing
For the world is at peace once again
There’s a sigh of relief up in heaven
No more conquest of hell on the Earth
For what profits the man who shall gain the whole world
If it leaves his own soul with no worth

She was launched in the year 1940
Up the Saint Lawrence River she sailed
For the Battle Atlantic was raging
Adolph Hitler had freedom impaled
Her crew of the finest young warriors
To fight and defend they avowed
Their Canadian Ensign the pride of the sea
Like the Redcoats of old Fort Macleod

Yes, Lethbridge embarked on her journey
Vital mission to guard and defend
Protecting supply-laden convoys
As torpedoes and U-boats descend
Rock hard as the limestone of Cardston
Was the strength of resolve on the ship
And Lethbridge gave fight against U- boats and waves
Back and forth on each dangerous trip

And the boys listened close on the sonar
Many enemies lurking below
They watched the horizon for U-boats
With their depth charges ready to throw
The supply ships brought hope and salvation
In a war against Hitlerish wrath
And Lethbridge made sure all the convoys were safe
Hard at work like ol’ Charlie Magrath

In the mess deck the cooks plan the menu
Cans of soup, cans of beans, cans of meat
And when the wild ocean was churning
From their helmets their supper they’d eat
The bread and the biscuits were soggy
The cheese was all covered in mold
As worn hungry men came to eat of the slop
Tales of steak and fried bacon were told

The Atlantic was deep and unending
The weather could turn on a dime
The U-boats would strike just like lightning
There was danger in wait all the time
In the winter the deck was a skating rink
On the ocean a war hockey game
With sticks and a puck and machine guns for nets
And a pot with the Stanley Cup name

Yes, life on the sea was not easy
There were four-hour shifts ‘round the clock
The ship always rolling and swaying
When they landed the boys kissed the dock
At night they would look to the heavens
And they’d ponder their place in the stars
Just a speck on the sea in a vast universe
Under Jupiter, Venus and Mars

Their hearts longed for southern Alberta
Like a sagebrush loves tumbling the plain
And they rolled on the waves of the ocean
In a war full of heartache and pain
They dreamed of a world without conflict
As they rocked in their hammocky sleep
The North Star up high over crowsnest above
While the whales softly call from the deep

Then when the world turmoil came ending
Peace returned like a sudden chinook
And Lethbridge sailed home to Alberta
Brand new chapter to write in her book
To the wind that still blows on the prairie
To the Old Man, the trestle and train
To the pronghorns still dancing and prancing around
To a world full of peace once again

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Copyright 2020 Garth Paul Ukrainetz
In celebration & remembrance of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

1945 - 2020
“Lest We Forget”