Ever heard of a group of Canadian soldiers called the Van Deuse...Van Doose SP...WWII?

Question

My grandfather was apparently a memeber of a group of men that were known as the Van Deuse (sorry, my Granny just died - she would know...so I'm guessing) and they fought in the second world war...any info would be great!

Answer 1

It's the Royal 22nd Regiment - the "Van Doos". "Van Doos" is a corruption of "Vingt-Deuxième" (22nd) as in "Royal Vingt-Deuxième Régiment". It is one of the more illustrious military units in Canadian history.

"During the First World War, Canada decided to create a military unit that would represent its French-speaking population. As soldiers and peacekeepers, the Royal 22nd Regiment – the famed "Van Doos" – have been among Canada's vanguard in both World Wars, and in hotspots that include Korea, Cyprus, Congo, Bosnia and East Timor."
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-71-579/conflict_war/van_doos/

From a 1964 article, prior to the deployment of the Van Doos to Cyprus:
"The Van Doo Regiment was born in World War I, fought savagely from Courcelette to Vimy Ridge to the bloodbath of Passchendaele. In one three-day battle, only seven officers and 118 men remained of 800, but they had taken 1,200 German prisoners. The Van Doos have since served in Italy in World War II, and with the U.N. forces in Korea. The regimental mascot is a goat named Baptiste, named after Jean-Baptiste, patron saint of French Canada, and their marching song is Vive la Canadienne. The Van Doos have been on a U.N. alert for the past three years as a "fire-brigade force ready to go anywhere," have been trained in such niceties as mob control, guerrilla operations and peace-patrol techniques, and carry such special equipment as wooden batons and steel mesh shields as protection against stone-throwing demonstrators."
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938525,00.html

Answer 2

It's Van Deusen!!

Answer 3

i believe it's spelled van doos, and they were allegedly feared because of their ability to pull off night-time sneak attacks, legend states they once snuck into a german encampment in the night and left signs they were there,the germans were freaked out and surrended that post.

Answer 4

I've heard of them and heard they were supposed to be bad-***, but I don't really know much about them.