MOOSE JAW — Brothers Bill and Walter Sagal served their country in wartime and have now been honoured with banners throughout the downtown, joining their other brother, Gus, whose banner was unveiled last year.
Furthermore, Gus’ son, Francis Eric Sagal, has also been honoured with a banner.
This story features the biographies of the three new Sagal men, with information taken from the City of Moose Jaw website.
This is 2 of 8 in a series.
Bill Sagal
Very little information was listed for Bill, aside from the fact he served in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945.
Walter Sagal
Following in the footsteps of his brothers Gus and Bill, Walter joined the army in 1943 and completed his basic training in Regina. He went overseas that same year with No. 4 Platoon – 1 Company and saw service in England and Belgium as a welder repairing tanks and other vehicles like the Deuce-and-a-Half truck.
Walter claims he survived a direct hit on the welding shop only because he was completing repairs underneath one of those trucks at the time. He returned from the war in the fall of 1945.
Once home, Walter brought the welding skills he learned during the war to his work at Sagal Bros.
Walter and his wife, Marguerete (Thul), went on to have five children. Walter didn’t speak much about his time in the service to family and friends, but when asked, he would always say, “We put the last weld on the last tank that fired the last shot.”
Francis Eric Sagal
I (Francis) joined the Canadian Armed Forces (Air) in May 1972. I completed my basic training in Cornwallis, N.S., and was trained as a teletype and cipher technician in Kingston, Ont.
I was briefly posted to CFB Calgary before being deployed on two UN Peacekeeping missions to the Middle East with UNEF Middle East and UNDOF Golan Heights. I was originally posted in Cairo, Egypt. In June 1974, after the creation of the UN Observing Force in Golan, I was sent to Quneitra, Syria (Israeli-held territory).
During my service in Canada and the Middle East, I had the privilege of visiting many locations, from Port Hardy to Halifax; Lahr, Germany; and Nicosia, Cyprus. As a technician, I travelled extensively in Egypt, the Sinai Desert and the Gaza Strip. I was in Israel, Damascus, the Golan Heights and Beirut, Lebanon. I have also been inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.
I was honourably released in March 1975, and I must say, the Canadian Armed Forces were very good to me. The medals I received were the UNEF Middle East, UNDOF Golan Heights and Canadian Peacekeeping.
