Jean Bissonnette, son of Cécile Latreille and Jean-Baptiste Bissonnette from Fournier, ON, enlisted around 1942-43 at the age of 21.

He did his basic training in Cornwall, followed by more advanced training in Valcartier, QC, before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC) in L’Acadie to monitor bomb depots. While there, he received orders to go overseas. Before leaving for Europe, he received a 20-day leave to spend with his parents in L’Orignal. Only his sister knew about his upcoming departure. His parents wouldn’t be told until after the fact.

The next day, Jean took the train to Halifax and boarded the Mauritania for the long and challenging Atlantic crossing. Sleeping in a hammock gave him terrible nausea. Thus, the young soldier slept on the outside deck during the five days of the Atlantic crossing.

Upon arrival in Horsham, England, he trained for the Front. Comfort, warmth and proper food were no longer part of his daily life. Jean, a francophone, was sent to Brussels in Belgium and then to the Quai d’Orsay in Paris as a provost marshal. Despite the Armistice of November 11, 1945, Jean Bissonnette didn’t return home right away. He stayed an additional year in Europe, going back and forth from the Quai d’Orsay to Belgium, Holland and Germany (Oderburg), to transport rations.

On November 26, 1946, he returned to Canada aboard the Aquitania. After a month’s leave spent with his parents in L’Orignal, he returned to civilian life and married Gisèle Gascon of Grenville, QC. He is the father of Jean-Pierre, Yves, Line, Richard and Daniel.

As part of her studies in Literature and World Cultures, Jean Bissonnette’s daughter, Line, wrote her master’s thesis on the Romanesque works of two French-Canadian soldiers who were also authors. She was inspired by her father, who, a few weeks prior to his death, revealed his life experiences as a member of the Canadian Provost Force (Military Police) during the Second World War.