Journey tribute to Grandfather

Two years ago, on November 11, I was starting the adventure of a lifetime. I had boarded a plane in Regina a couple of days earlier, and now, I was waking up in Seoul, Korea. I took the subway to Dong Seoul bus station where I purchased a ticket to Gapyeong to visit the Canadian War Memorial in honour of my late grandfather, Wally Austman. Grandpa was so proud to be a veteran, a member of the Legion, the Colour Party, and especially the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. I had with me a short bio of my grandfather's time in Korea, along with some pictures of him in his uniform, and of course, a poppy.

I was nervous buying the ticket because no one spoke any English at the bus depot, and all I got was nods and smiles whenever I tried to ask a question. I got on the bus and after about an hour of worrying that I wasn't going to Gapyeong, I arrived. It was not at all what I expected. I was thinking I would be going to a small town, but it turned out to be a full-sized city. A full-sized city with no English signs anywhere!

I wandered, hopelessly lost, for a couple minutes until I spotted a war memorial for Commonwealth soldiers. I decided that if I couldn't find the Canadian memorial, this would be better than nothing. As I took pictures and read the inscription on the plaque, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, an elderly Korean man watching me. As I was leaving, he said hello in English, so I walked over to him and greeted him back. He spoke near- perfect English and asked what I was doing in Gapyeong, I showed him my grandfather's story and told him how he had fought in the Korean war and how he died the previous year, just months before being able to re-visit Korea. The man was visibly excited when I told him about my grandpa and explained that he, too, was a Korean War veteran.

We talked for a while about his experiences in the army and during the war, and he offered to find me a taxi to take me to the Canadian war memorial and translate for me. We walked back to the bus depot where he found me a cab and talked to the driver. Before he left, he told me that my grandfather was a hero for his country. I shook his hand and got into the taxi with tears in my eyes at this man's kind words.

I took the taxi to the war memorial which was about fifteen minutes away. During the ride, I thought about my grandfather, and what he must have gone through while fighting in the Korean War. I wished he had had the opportunity to come with me here, but I knew I was doing it for both of us now. We arrived at the monument sometime later, and I stood in front of it gazing up. Someone had recently left wreaths at the base of the memorial, so I placed Grandpa's story and pictures next to them, the poppy a proud red sign of remembrance.

I then asked the taxi driver to take my picture standing next to the PPCLA monument. I wondered if Grandpa had had a hand in pointing the Korean soldier, a former comrade-in-arms, in my direction, so that I would find my way to the right memorial.

I took time to sit at the foot of the statue in silence, remembering my grandfather, tears welling in my eyes. He was one of the most amazing men I've ever had the luck of meeting, and I miss him every day. I know he would have loved to accompany me on my trip to Korea, and I know we would have found some particularly interesting adventures together! But, it's just me, and I'll have to adventure enough for both of us now.

We will remember them.