In 1943, Joseph Conrad Montcalm, the son of Ernest Montcalm (a barber in L’Orignal) and his wife, Hazel, enlisted in the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal Regiment at age 20. Conrad attended army courses at the University of Montreal. 

Private Montcalm participated in the Normandy invasion in 1944. His regiment was then sent to Holland to eradicate German troops and assist Dutch civilians, many of whom were on the point of starvation. Retreating German soldiers had confiscated their supplies, and the Dutch were reduced to eating tulip bulbs! 

Killed on January 28, 1945, at Groesbeek, Private Montcalm was buried at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, Holland. 

On May 4, 2010, Patrice Gaudreault of Le Droit newspaper wrote the following article, which links Conrad Montcalm’s story to that of another Canadian who served in the second World War:

“Groesbeek, the Netherlands – Until the last days of his life, Jean-Marie Leroy carried the weight of a promise made to his best friend on a battlefield in the Netherlands. Sixty-five years later, Leroy kept his word. Jean-Marie Leroy was 21 years old when he joined the Fusiliers de Mont-Royal, one of the country’s oldest francophone battalions. In August 1944, he landed in Normandy to help liberate the coastal areas of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.”

On January 28, 1945, he saw his closest comrade fall under machine-gun fire near Groesbeek in Holland. Joseph Conrad Montcalm did not die immediately; the 20-year-old was crying out for help. Faced with enemy fire, Jean-Marie Leroy promised to reach him as soon as possible. When the noise of the fighting subsided, it was too late: Private Montcalm had succumbed to his wounds.

Jean-Marie died in January 2009 at the age of 84. In his will, he had requested that some of his ashes be buried near his best friend. At a poignant ceremony held in May 2010 at the Groesbeek Canadian Cemetery, the two men were reunited.

In front of Conrad’s grave, his older brother, André Montcalm, delicately poured the ashes of Jean-Marie Leroy on the ground to fulfill the promise that haunted him for years. He read a short message, written by former members of the Fusiliers Mont-Royal, referring to the very different shapes of soldiers Montcalm (6′ 1″, 225 pounds) and Leroy (5′ 4″, 125 pounds).

“Don’t be afraid, Jean-Marie, you still have the upper bunk.”