November 11 is getting close.
Lest we forget
That’s Veterans day, the time when we honour those who put their lives on the line to protect us. Many of you have seen the recent four deaths and other soldiers in critical condition after a wildfire at Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright. They were part of Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry. The PPLI is close to my heart. You see, my late father was part of that unit during the Korean War. Never mind some just tried to call it a police action but when you have numerous countries fighting each other it’s more than that.
November 11 is getting close.
Going into the USA one US border guard said he was thankful for what the Canadians did as it made his life possible. The US, New Zealand, Australians, British and other countries retreated. All that was left was Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry located on a hill about 35 miles from South Korea’s capital. Just 700 Canadians in the way of 5,000 plus Chinese and North Koreans wanting to bring their beliefs to all of Korea.
Lest we forget
“ My dad told me about that stand. He said when it got dark he heard the words of UK Brigadier Brian Burke.” He decided not to use the radio to talk to PPCLI soldiers on Hill 677. Burke ordered a Dakota aircraft equipped with loudspeakers and flew over the PPCLI positions announcing that they were now on their own, cut off from any support and would have to fight the coming battle alone. He wished them good luck and encouraged them to fight bravely.
Dad was a sniper/scout who went behind enemy lines with one to 20 other members of a team he was in charge of. He rescused a bunch of British officers once but I remember one story best. He had fallen into a honey well. He explained that was where the Koreans composted human shit and piss. He stank like nothing I could imagine he said. As a result he went to the river.
The grass was high enough to hide the rest of the team but while he was washing up he was wholly exposed. He told me that moments like this made you a little crazy so he started singing. All the other soldiers were telling him to shut the hell up and he just laughed while singing. He said that if the enemy was around he was dead so he just had to laugh at his chances. Many other stories weren’t as funny but he shared them with me. I think he needed to.
Later in life we lived on bases and I saw the same ways of thinking that he talked about. People who join the armed forces do so for different reasons then fighting communism as my dad did but all of them are prepared to put their lives on the line for more then our country. They do it because they believe what they are doing is for the greater good. What’s that saying? For evil to prosper all it needs is men of good will to do nothing or something like that.
My uncle, honoring my father, asked me to find him a couple of poppys on October 26.
I went around and couldn’t find any. The next day I came across an old veteran in the Montreal metro selling them. I brought 5 for 10 dollars. I asked the man about why it was so hard to find some. He told me the people of his generation were passing on and the younger generation didn’t seem to be interested or think it was important. It is important. The Netherlands still sends tulips to Canada for our actions during WW II.
Younger Canadians should reach out and help to sell the poppys. They should also make friends with the old veterans. There is so much they can teach us, especially with our southern neighbor wanting us to become part of his country. Trump’s rhetoric continues to say how bad we’ve been to them. The old vet’s have lessons we need just in case. At the least they can teach you how to evade capture, whether it’s law enforcement (on vacation or staycation) or some bad people wanting to hurt you.
In any case if you want to help contact the Canadian Legion in Montreal at: Royal Canadian Legion Quebec Provincial Command Rue Saint-Patrick, Montreal· (514) 866-7491. They’ll tell you the nearest one to you.
By the way I have always found the Legion is one of the places with the cheapest beer around and has really good dart players,
In any case go out and get a poppy and thank our Vet’s for their service.
