Joseph Kaeble

Joseph-Thomas Kaeble
Bust of Joseph Kaeble at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa
Born	5 May 1892 Saint-Moïse, Quebec
Died	9 June 1918 (aged 26) Neuville-Vitasse, France
Buried at	Wantequin, France
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Army
Rank	Corporal
Unit	22e Battalion (Canadien Francais), Canadian Expeditionary Force
Battles/wars	World War I Western Front
Awards	VC, MM

Joseph-Thomas Kaeble, VC, MM (5 May 1892 – 9 June 1918) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first French Canadian soldier to be decorated with the VC and Military Medal.

Biography

Born 5 May 1892 in Saint-Moïse, Quebec, he was a corporal in the 22e Battalion (Canadien Francais), Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. On 8 June 1918 at Neuville-Vitasse, France, Kaeble performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He died whilst doing so.

Citation

For most conspicuous bravery and extraordinary devotion to duty when in charge of a Lewis gun section in the front line trenches, in which a strong enemy raid was attempted. During an intense bombardment Corporal Kaeble remained at the parapet with his Lewis gun shouldered ready for action, the field of fire being very short. As soon as the barrage lifted from the front line, about fifty of the enemy advanced towards his post. By this time the whole of his section except one had become casualties. Corporal Kaeble jumped over the parapet, and holding his Lewis gun at the hip, emptied one magazine after another into the advancing enemy, and although wounded several times by fragments of shells and bombs, he continued to fire and entirely blocked the enemy by his determined stand. Finally, firing all the time, he fell backwards into the trench mortally wounded. While lying on his back in the trench he fired his last cartridges over the parapet at the retreating Germans, and before losing consciousness shouted to the wounded about him: "Keep it up, boys; do not let them get through! We must stop them !" The complete repulse of the enemy attack at this point was due to the remarkable personal bravery and self-sacrifice of this gallant non-commissioned officer, who died of his wounds shortly afterwards.

—London Gazette, Supplement No. 30903, dated 16 September 1918

Transported to hospital, Corporal Joseph Kaeble died of his wounds the next night, 9 June.

Burial and legacy

He was buried in the local cemetery in Wantequin, some seven miles west of Arras (Wantequin memorial/cemetery: Plot II. Row A. Grave 8. Headstone).

At CFB Valcartier, honors to Kaeble include Mount Kaeble, just east of Camp Vimy; a street on the base; and the Kaeble Club, the privates' and corporals' mess.

On February 10, 2011, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that the nine new vessels in a new class of midshore patrol vessels would be named the Hero-class patrol vessels. One of the new vessels will be named after Kaeble.

References

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• VCs of the First World War - Spring Offensive 1918 (Gerald Gliddon, 1997)

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• In memory of Corporal JOSEPH KAEBLE (service/personal details, citation, relevant documents, burial information)
• Legion Magazine Article on Joseph Kaeble
• Find-A-Grave profile for Joseph Kaeble