Lieutenant Colonel Fraser Eadie

National Archives of Canada PA 169240

1917-2003

Last commanding Officer of 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion - 1945

I was sorry to hear the news of the death of Lt Col Fraser Eadie. He died on Monday August 11, 2003. He was a fine and well respected Canadian combat infantry officer. I had the great pleasure of meeting him at one of the reunions of 1 Can Para in Regina many years ago. I have also had the privilege of knowing many of the veterans of 1 Can Para who served with him. In al cases I found that Lt Col Fraser Eadie was a highly respected Commanding Officer - a man that his troops would follow anywhere.

Fraser Eadie was one of those Canadian paratroopers interviewed for the Canadian broadcast of "Band of Brothers" series.  

The following info is from:

AIRBORNE by Brian Nolan (AB)

Out of the Clouds by John A. Willes and Mark H. Lockyer (OOC)

Tip of the Spear by Lt Col Bernd Horn and Michael Wyczynski (TOS)

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Pre-war Fraser Eadie had served in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, and as an up and coming hockey defenceman, he could have been exempted from military service, but he "chose duty before a career in the NHL."  (AB p. 14)

In 1944 as 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion was withdrawn from action, "Major Fraser Eadie took temporary command of this battered band of Canadian paratroopers." (AB p. 117)

During the Battle of the Bulge, the British 6th Airborne Division was rushed from England by sea and land to help stop the German breakthrough in the American sector of the Ardennes.  "the Canadians discovered they had an atrocity on their hands when they took over the town of Bande. The Canadians found the bodies of thirty-seven old men, women and children in the cellar of a bombed out garage. Fraser Eadie recalled: ' The German armoured troops ... took every male in the village and threw them into the basement of the house and threw grenades in and then shot them up. '  Anderson's diary reported" 'To see young children blown apart in this way for no apparent reason is something not easily forgotten." (AB p. 131)

"feisty commanding officer" (AB p. 5) [during the battle immediately after parachuting into Germany in March 1945.]

His best friend was Jeff "Nick" Nicklin who was the Commanding Officer of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion before Fraser Eadie, and who was killed by enemy fire on the parachute drop. (AB p. 14)

"Fraser Eadie was in the first airplane in the second group of nine ... he could see the drop zone ahead, partially obscured by dust and smoke. (AB p. 152) (then there was a joke made about a nice day to be going fishing instead)

"Eadie said he landed exactly where he wanted to, but had jumped 'from a height most of us later felt must have been about 600 and 700 feet. We had hoped to exit around 450 feet. ' It seemed a long time as he drifted down, long enough for a German marksman to get a bead on him  Two rounds snapped by his head with a loud "crack ... crack". When this happened Eadie slumped in his harness as if he had been hit, going limp with his tommy-gun dangling from his hand . Just before hitting the ground he 'came back to life' to make a proper landing. ... What Eadie saw was bedlam ....Eadie felt the bullets whizzing by as... (he) leaped up, fired two bursts from his tommy-gun .... and took off towards the rendezvous spot. The two hundred yard dash seemed to take forever. His equipment felt like a ton..." AB pp. 153-4)

AN p. 179 a story about a young soldier going into battle carrying some eggs in a basket, and then later offering the Colonel Eadie some eggs to eat.

"When the battalion eventually reached Wismar (Germany), Eadie himself acquired a beautiful V08 Horch Auto Union limousine that had been commandeered." (AB p. 182)

Fraser Eadie was awarded the American Silver Star on 20 May 1945. (TOS p. 275)  He later wrote "I shall ever remember with great pride and affection, the energy and spirit of Canada's first paratroopers, who forged a proud legacy on the battlefields of Europe during World War II. An unprecedented level of physical fitness, an unrivalled skill-at-arms, and an unparalleled sense of self-confidence characterized the early airborne soldier. These paratroopers became the first Canadian troops to storm Hitler's Fortress Europe on D-Day. By war's end they had penetrated deeper into the Reich than any Canadian unit. " (TOS p. 275

In June 1945, the 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion was returned to Halifax, Canada on board the ship the Isle de France.  (AB pp.193-194) Everyone was given thirty-day disembarkation leave until July 27, when the men reported back to duty to a camp located at Niagara-on-the-Lake ....On September 30, with official orders to disband the 1st Canadian Parachute battalion , Fraser Eadie signed the papers that brought this unique and proud Canadian Army battalion to its end." (AB p. 196)