Pte. Joseph F. Arsenault
Shot In Stomach By Germans
_______________________
While Prisoner of War                         December, 1945
                                                  

At the war crimes trial of Major General Kurt Meyer, charged with the murder of eight Canadian soldiers in the Normandy village of Authie on June 7, 1944, evidence was given by Sergeant William McKay, of Toney River, N.S., that he saw Private Joseph F. Arsenault, of Summerside, then a prisoner of war, shot in the stomach and killed by a German guard.

The 33-year-old Major General Meyer is on trial in Germany, charged with direct and indirect responsibility of the murder of 48 Canadian prisoners of war.

In his testimony McKay told of being taken after his capture to a doorway in the centre of Authie and left alone by a guard for a while.

From a doorway he saw eight other prisoners across the street. "They were just sitting there quite peacefully," he said. "Suddenly three German guards in the centre of the street opened fire with automatic weapons on the eight prisoners. The Canadians fell, some forward on their faces, some backwards."

In another group, McKay said Private Joseph F. Arsenault, of Summerside, was shot in the stomach, and fell. The witness said he did not see the first shot, but did see a German guard fire a revolver at Arsenault as the prisoner lay on the ground.

Mr. and Mrs. Fidèle F. Arsenault, parents of the murdered soldier, reside at 61 North Market Street.

In an interview with The Pioneer, Mrs. Arsenault said that Joseph enlisted at the outbreak of war, and went into action on "D" Day with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. His wife, Mrs. Julia Arsenault, had received word from the Defence Department in June that Joseph was missing since June 6^th. Later she received word that he was a prisoner of war. Then, on March of this year she received word from Ottawa that her husband was presumed killed.

The first knowledge Mrs. Fidèle Arsenault had of her son being killed while a prisoner of war was when The Pioneer reporter informed her last night.

The wife of the deceased soldier lives on Ottawa Street in Summerside. One sister, Teresa, resides with her parents, and another sister, Mrs. Camila Gaudet, lives on Duke Street. A brother, Ben Arsenault, recently discharged from the army, also resides in Summerside.

(Journal-Pioneer)