Robert Charles Dionne was born in Sarnia on December 24, 1923, the second son of Raymond William Dionne (see above) and Golda Marie (nee Young) Dionne. During wartime, the family resided at 343 Victoria Avenue, Point Edward. Robert had eight siblings, including brothers Melvin Joseph, Raymond James (born 1921) and Ronald N. (born 1925). Robert Charles was raised in Sarnia, and was a member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Parish, attending Our Lady of Mercy School and graduating from St. Patrick’s Catholic High School.

Robert, single at the time, enlisted in the Canadian Army, recording his occupation as a sailor. Robert became a member of Royal Canadian Engineers, 11 Field Coy, with the rank of Sapper, going overseas in January 1941. Three of Robert’s brothers, along with his father, Raymond William Dionne, a veteran of the Great War, would serve in the army during World War II.

Robert’s older brother, Raymond James, would attained the rank of Corporal, serving with the Canadian Army, Royal Canadina Engineers in North Africa and Sicily. At the time of Robert’s death, Raymond James had returned to Sarnia from Italy. Raymond James had received his education at Our Lady of Mercy school and before enlisting worked at the Holmes Foundry. Raymond James was married and had a son only a few weeks old when he left for overseas on August 21, 1940. After spending two years in England, he was amongst the first Canadians to go to North Africa. Later, he would land in Sicily where some of the toughest work his unit experienced was carried out. Raymond James would arrive back in Sarnia in late-August 1944 after approximately four years service overseas. When interviewed about his Sicily/Italy experience, he described it as not so much fighting as chasing the enemy long, weary miles without rest. He said, Messina and Reggio were not the beauty spots that appear in pictures when we got there after the bombardment. We had real hard fighting at Cassino. The Germans are tough fighters and do not give up while they have weapons or ammunition. One prisoner declared he was the last man in his unit and would have fought it out only his weapons were gone. After the fall of Rome most of us managed to get there on a visit. It was a fine sight after months spent in the fields.

Robert’s brother Melvin, was a Private, serving with the Canadian Army in Belgium. Robert’s younger brother Ronald N. was a Private, also in the Canadian Army. Ronald would be one of the first infantry-men to step ashore on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. Wounded on D-Day, Ronald was sent to England to recover from wounds received in France. Ronald would later return to battle, where he was wounded again on the drive into Germany. Robert’s father, Raymond William Dionne, a veteran of World War I, would also serve in World War II. Patriarch of the family Raymond William Dionne would serve in England with the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Engineers, with the rank of Sapper. Robert’s father Raymond, was wounded overseas in a bombing raid and would return to Canada in 1943. Patriarch of the family, Raymond William Dionne, would lose his life in May 1943, his death the result of his wounds.

Robert Dionne was in England in January 1942, as a Sapper, initially working on army equipment. On May 23, 1943, Robert would receive the news from his home in Sarnia that his father Raymond had died, after being an invalid while at home. Just over one year later, on June 6, 1944, D-Day, Robert Dionne would land on Juno Beach, France. Four months later, on October 1, 1944, Robert Dionne would lose his life while fighting in Belgium, in the early stages of the Battle of the Scheldt. In mid-October 1944, widowed mother Golda Dionne in Point Edward, who had lost her husband less than a year and a half prior, would receive a telegram from Ottawa informing her that her son, Sapper Robert Charles Dionne, was killed in action in Belgium on October 1. Approximtely two weeks after receiving the telegram of her son Charles’ death, Golda Dionne would receive another telegram informing her that her third son, Pte. Melvin Dionne, has been wounded overseas.

Robert Charles Dionne would later be officially listed as, Killed in action, in the field (Belgium). Robert Dionne was awarded a decoration posthumously in July of 1948 from the Belgian government. The award he received was the “Croix de Guerre 1940 avec Paime” with the words inscribed, “The King has been pleased to grant the following decoration in recognition of distinguished services in the cause of the Allies.” Twenty-year old Robert Dionne is buried in Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, Grave 5.E.10.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, L, N, 2C, 2D, a