VA New England Healthcare System

Veterans' Healthy Living, Spring 2013

Veteran Spotlight: Alfred Pouliot

In 1944, Alfred “Freddy” Pouliot enlisted in the Army. Initially, his plan was to be a gunner, but because he could speak German and French so well, he quickly became an interpreter. “Frenchie” as they called him, was given the task of going face-to-face with German soldiers after conflicts to ask them to surrender.

As part of the 839th battalion, Freddy recalled walking countless miles across snow- and ice-covered fields in Europe. On one occasion, while walking in Germany, his battalion got the opportunity to shake hands with General Eisenhower. As he shook hands with Eisenhower, the General said, “Job well done.”

In another field in Germany, Pouliot and the other men were told German spies were close by and they were instructed not to advance, but he went ahead anyway. He wasn’t arrested, but our forces took him back to camp thinking he too was a German spy. Pouliot was interrogated for two and a half long hours, but he finally convinced them that he was, in fact, an American. Pouliot was at the Danube River near the Russian border when the war ended. He said the Americans celebrated the victory with the Russians who were there, and he played an accordion for the first time. He remembered playing songs he knew from home while everyone danced.

Pouliot returned home in 1946 and went to work for the VA as one of the first employees at the facility in Manchester, which was new at the time. He worked as a nurse’s aide for many years and then spent 10 years as a housekeeper in the operating room. His VA career spanned a total of 33 years, from 1950–1983. Job well done, Frenchie.

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