Here’s a Newfoundland joke with a difference, as well as a happy ending. It’s from L. Mitchell of Curling, Nfld.
“The late Eric Vavasour and I were signallers in 137 Bty., 166th Newfoundland Field Regt. We laid our line out to the forward observation post just before dawn. Part of the ground we had to cover was subject to German machine-gun and mortar fire so we had to wait until dark the following night to get back to our maintenance point.
“We didn’t receive the password for that night. It was ‘Russian’ and the answer was ‘Bear.’ As we approached the infantry lines, we heard somebody shout, ‘Halt, Russian.’
“After a short pause, Vavasour said: “Russian be damned, we’re two Newfies.” His accent was good enough for the Scottish soldier with a Tommy gun trained on us.
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