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 Brother Arne KnudsenA life that could inspire Hollywood By Leslie Dyson The movie Forrest Gump might have taken its inspiration from the eventful life of Brother Arne Knudsen. Mind you, Arne was no simpleton. Arne passed away in March, at the age of 98, with no regrets and a thousand stories. Here’s just a brief outline of some of the key events in his life. Each one could inspire a movie. As amazing as it seems, Arne’s son Bob says it’s all true. He arrived in Halifax from Denmark in 1929 at the age of 20. Speaking little English and looking forward to starting a new life, he took a job on a farm near Winnipeg. Unfortunately, he ran into an employer who bilked him of his wages. He then joined the Fort Gary Horse Regiment and was sent to Fort Churchill to work on a new harbour. That project was cut short by the Great Depression. He couldn’t find work and, like so many young men, he rode the rails looking for opportunities. Arne took several “two-bit jobs,” as he called them, to try to stay alive. In Vancouver in the winter of 1931-’32, jobs were scarce, so he worked as a “stake horse” in a gambling hall. He and four others would start a game with fake betting until real gamblers replaced them one by one. The game continued until the marks lost everything to the house. A police officer was in on the racket and would warn them when a raid was about to happen. Only the stake horses would be playing when the police arrived. Arne and the others would be arrested and released shortly after when the cop who was in on the scheme was paid the cover money. The City of Vancouver never saw any of those fines. Finally, in the spring of 1932 he got a job on the SS Aurora which was about to leave Vancouver. But it wasn’t what he expected so he and a friend jumped ship in Shanghai. They got into trouble with the authorities when they hooked up with a couple of Chinese women outside the International Settlement. The two were sent to work with a Danish company building the Manchurian railway. Ten weeks later, the Japanese Army invaded. Arne and his friend decided to ship out for Vancouver. Shortly after, he found himself again riding in boxcars looking for work. After a bit of time in one of Prime Minister R.J. Bennett’s remote work camps, Arne found an opportunity to ship out again on a packet boat running mail between Shanghai and Singapore. Yearning for Canada, though, he jumped ship in Malaya. He took a job on the MS Annam which was scheduled to drop anchor in Vancouver after a stop in Copenhagen. As the Annam prepared to leave Copenhagen, he was pulled off by the Danish police. He was told he owed his former country a stint of military service. He soon found himself on the royal yacht Dannebrog and met Crown Prince Frederik. While Arne was enjoying a swim beside the yacht, the prince received a letter inviting Denmark to send swimmers to the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. Arne was informed that his name had been added to the country’s Olympic team. No amount of arguing could change the prince’s mind. A few days later, he was on a bus on his way to compete in the 500-metre free-style swimming event. In the water with the best swimmers in the world, Arne was terrified of humiliating himself. He used every swimming stroke he knew—the Australian crawl, the side stroke, the breast stroke—all the time telling himself, “Don’t come last, don’t come last!” In fact he finished third! While receiving his bronze medal he caught sight of Adolph Hitler. He had no idea at the time that he’d spend the next nine years fighting fascists. He returned to Denmark a hero but the authorities refused to give back his passport. Fearing a war with Germany, officials wanted their reservists to stay ready to fight for the country. Arne discovered that the Communist Party of Denmark was issuing official-looking passports to anyone who would go to Spain to fight with the International Brigades. Spain was in a civil war. The Falangists, led by fascist General Franco and heavily supported by Germany and Italy, were trying to overthrow the democratically elected government. However, no democratic country would come to the aid of the Spanish democracy. It was left to individuals. Arne was assigned to the 11th Hans Beimler Brigade composed mainly of anti-fascist Germans. Training was minimal. They were only allowed to fire five rounds to familiarize themselves with their rifles. Arne faced his first battle on Nov. 9, 1936. His rifle jammed but he still had his .38 revolver. The enemy was advancing and he found himself face to face with Falangist soldiers. He shot one with his .38 and the rest backed off. They were beaten back but there were heavy casualties on both sides. Later he was put in charge of his own anti-tank gun. He fought on 18 different fronts. In the end, the International Brigades lost. Arne’s duty came to an end in 1938 while fighting near the French border. His commander informed them that they were cut off and without hope. He told them to cross over into France to be interned. The commander stayed and was killed later that day. With his false passport in hand, Arne left France and set sail for South America to work at a mine. However, he contracted malaria and the company bought him a ticket for Vancouver. Shortly after he arrived, he purchased a chicken farm in Port Kells. It seemed his international adventures were over. However, one month later Germany invaded Poland. He went immediately to enlist. When he was asked about his experience he proudly reported that he’d served one year in the Danish navy and two years with the International Brigades in Spain. “Bloody communist!” the Colonel barked and ordered him to leave. The next day, he went to another recruiting office. This time he only mentioned his Danish navy experience, but he was rejected for not having his Canadian citizenship. Later he met with a buddy who told him he should say he was from Little Denmark in New Brunswick. Everyone there spoke with Arne’s accent. On his third attempt, he was successful. He joined the 31st Battery of the 15th Coast Brigade, Royal Canadian Artillery. He volunteered for an anti-tank battery that was starting up in Winnipeg. While there, he met Paula and they married. The original M10 anti-tank gun that he’d been trained on proved useless against the German tanks. It was “like throwing water at a goose,” Arne told a reporter. Things changed when the guns were reconfigured. A few days later, Arne knocked out his first Nazi tank. There were many incidents where Arne escaped death by the slimmest of margins. Finally, he was captured and taken to a holding camp for POWs. The second in command learned that Arne was a Canadian. He told Arne that he was too, but he was conscripted while visiting family in Germany. Arne challenged him: “If you’re really a Canadian, help me get out of here.” The officer said that such an act would leave them both dead. However, a few days later, Arne was astounded when the officer told him to check under his bunk and leave through the front gate precisely at 6 that night. Arne found a loaf of bread and sausage waiting for him. He walked out as calmly as he could, always expecting a bullet in the back. When he snuck a peek up at the guardhouse, he saw his friend distracting the sentries. Shortly after, he was found by New Zealanders who took some convincing to believe his accent wasn’t German and that he wasn’t a spy. On one campaign, Arne and two of his crew rescued a couple of American Rangers. The Germans had just captured a listening post. Arne heard moaning and kneeled down to assist. Around the corner came a Nazi with a leveled machine pistol. Arne got off the first and fatal shot. However, this alerted the other German soldiers, so Arne lobbed a grenade through the window to silence them. Now the Canadians were forced to carry the wounded back through heavy fire. Arne returned a second time to get the last man out. While on leave in Rome in 1944 with four buddies, he visited the Vatican. They snuck inside by accompanying a legitimate group. Once inside, they discovered that the group had arranged an audience with the Pope! Members of the group kneeled to kiss the Pope’s ring but the five Canadians held back. “We’re all Lutherans,” Arne explained. That ended their visit. Arne was one of the most decorated soldiers in B.C. He celebrated VE-Day in London recuperating from a leg wound. He returned to Canada and to his wife Paula and met his five-year-old son for the first time. He discovered that he’d been awarded the U.S. Bronze Star for saving the American Rangers. He went to Washington to receive the award from President Harry Truman. Following the war, he took a job in a penitentiary, but it didn’t last long. He met an old army buddy who was serving time. When he tried to strike up a conversation with him, he was told it was forbidden. He quit shortly after and returned to chicken farming. Unfortunately Norfolk disease destroyed his flock and left him with debts. So he turned his skill in operating M10s during the war to the operation of heavy equipment. In May of last year Arne received yet another award, the Freedom of the Municipality of Delta Award. Arne helped start the North Delta Ratepayers’ Association and was captain of the volunteer fire department. Arne Knudsen was an activist right up to the end of his life and always a proud member of Operating Engineers Local 115. |
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