Korean War remembered at service

It is an honour and a privilege to be invited here to speak to you today. Remembrance Day is a day very close to my heart - I can't remember a year when our family has missed a ceremony. Does it not just send a shiver down your back and bring a tear to your eye when you look around and see all of the pride and respect here in this room? The swirl of the bagpipes and the lament of the Last Post reaches deep inside and stirs the soul.

As my intro indicated, I've been an educator for almost thirty years. I am also the proud daughter of a Korean War veteran, Wally Austman, and I believe the combination of the two is what brought me here today. This year, 2013, was declared the Year of the Korean War Veteran.

I have to tell you - I struggled with what to say when Rick Gibson asked me if I would consider speaking. Should I tell stories about the Korean War? Should I speak to you of the passion and empathy I see in today's youth? Should I try to send a message of peace? Should I tell you how I believe that the young men and women who volunteer to serve in the armed forces do so because they hope to make a difference, even in times of extreme duress? I hope that in honour of the Year of the Korean War Veteran, I can, perhaps, touch briefly on all of those topics.

Most of you, even the young ones, have heard about World Wars I and II. There have been many movies made that at least touch on the Vietnam War, so I'm sure many of you are familiar with some of that history, and I believe with all that's in the news right now about Afghanistan, a lot of you are aware that we have personnel over there right now, too. The war that many people know very little about though, is the war that my father fought in - the Korean War - the Forgotten War.

As a result of Japan's surrender after WWII, Korea had been split up along the 38th parallel. Communist Soviet Union had trusteeship over the northern half, and the USA was in the south. The newly formed United Nations had dreams that at some point, Korea's two halves would someday rejoin and become an independent nation. This was not to be - not then and not yet - even now.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea decided that South Korea should be communist like them, and they invaded their southern neighbours. Within hours, the UN made a decision that would forever change Canada's role in the world. Under strong persuasion from the USA, the United Nations decided that they couldn't allow communism to sweep through and take over. They would have to stand up against North Korea and fight back. A resolution was put on the table - their role was to repel the armed attack and restore international peace and security.

This now meant that Canadian volunteers and forces from fifteen other nations would go into South Korea and help turn back the invasion. Nearly 30 000 Canadians - ground, sea and air - supported the cause over the next three years of war and three more years as military observers. There were 1557 casualties - 33 POWs - 516 dead.

Initially, the soldiers that went over had a tough time - although the Canadians certainly had it better than some of the other countries. Supplies, including food, weapons and ammo, were short and training was brief. In an article from a 2003 Legion magazine, Lieutenant Don Belke spoke about the challenges of some of their weaponry. If the Sten gun didn't jam while you were using it, it might accidently go off and start spinning in circles, shooting as it went, if it fell onto a hard surface. Some of the 25-pounder artillery ammunition they used at the start of the war, had actually been recovered from the bottom of Hong Kong Bay after it had been sunk on Allied ships during WWII. They literally had to hammer the sand and silt off of it before they could load and fire. The timing fuses were also an issue at times, as being underwater meant that they sometimes didn't work at all, OR the shells could prematurely burst just outside of the guns shortly after they were shot.

Much of the little training the soldiers received was also based on WWII warfare, and fighting in Korea was more like that of WWI. Korea's terrain is rough with steep hills, small mountains and many narrow valleys. It couldn't support large armies, divisions or even battalions. Most often, small sections of men would go out on patrol - maybe ten people, most non-commissioned. There could be a Sten or Bren-gunner, some individual riflemen, a radio-operator and hopefully a leader with some battle experience from WWII. The group's survival depended on trusting each other, the skills they had and how they used them, and how quickly they could adapt to the inhospitable countryside.

Similar to WWI, a lot of time was spent in trenches. You had to dig in and be exceptionally quiet if you were on Forward Observation duty near the front. You would be cold; you would be wet, and muddy, and you would be scared.

Now, we need to pause for a moment. I want you to imagine these young kids - because that's what the average soldier in any conflict is - a kid. They are far from home - they're being shot at. They are seeing friends and acquaintances around them being injured or killed. No matter HOW brave you are - that has GOT to be scary.

When I was younger, Dad didn't talk much about his experiences at all. I didn't realize it at the time, but he still had nightmares about his service in Korea, and didn't like to dredge up those memories. As he got older though, he first wrote about, and then began to talk about, what he would describe as both the best AND the worst times of his life. Because of the extreme stress of being in battle, he quickly bonded and made friendships that would last a lifetime. He also lost friends that, though he had only known them for a short time, felt like they had been lifelong buddies.

My father once told a sad story about how, early on in his first tour, he was awoken at about 3 a.m. in the morning. A Canadian patrol at the front had been attacked, and they needed stretcher bearers to go out and retrieve the injured and dead and bring them back to the medics. As a stretcher bearer, your job was to go out, find a soldier, wrap him up, strap him down and bring him in. It wasn't until Dad and his partner made it back to camp that they were able to see just who they had picked up. It turned out that this particular soldier whose body they had retrieved was a young lad from Stockholm, Bob. Dad, Bob, and another young fellow named Mark had met the day they enlisted, a month after Dad's eighteenth birthday. The trio had been dubbed the three Musketeers because whenever you saw one, the other two were not far behind. And now Bob was gone - never to laugh at a stupid prank again - never to be a confidant to late-night fears - never again to be by his side.

Dad became sick to his stomach and retreated to his tent. He couldn't eat or keep anything down. After three days of this, his sergeant came to him and told him to "pull up his shorts" and get moving. There was no time to grieve. There was a war to be fought.

The young are idealists. They believe they can change the world. They KNOW they can make a difference. There are times, though, when ANY soldier will tell you that optimism can be crushed. The desire for change, the hope that good will prevail, that belief that peace can win out - has to come into question at times.

Our son, Keenan, travelled to Korea three years ago to be there for Remembrance Day. He took with him a poppy, a picture and some information about his grandfather. He wanted to visit the Canadian War Memorial in order to honour him. Keenan travelled to Kapyeoung, but couldn't find the right place. He spoke no Korean and could find no one who spoke English. After much wandering, he finally came across the Commonwealth Memorial and knew that His Grandpa Wally would understand if he paid his tribute here. After a few minutes of contemplation, an elderly Korean man approached Keenan. He spoke English, and as they talked, the man found out that Keenan's grandfather had fought in the Korean War. As it turned out, he, too, was a Korean War veteran, and with tears in his eyes, he thanked Keenan for what his grandfather had done and told him his grandpa was a hero to him. I like to think that perhaps my father was up there somewhere directing this kind man to our son in order to help him pay his respects.

When we had our school assembly this year, one of the new Colour Guard members, John Bencharski, took a minute to speak to the students about his time in Afghanistan. He talked about the harsh conditions of the war, and how good it felt to be coming home, even if it was a bittersweet plane ride. In the bottom of the plane rode another young man. He was also coming home, but he would be arriving in a casket. John eloquently spoke about stepping out of the plane when he first arrived back in Canada and how good it smelled. He used words to the effect that that was one of the reasons for which he'd gone what he had gone over to Afghanistan so that others could breathe the fresh air of freedom.

I'm not here to glorify war. I don't think anyone would ever argue that war was anything but evil. I'm not here to tell you that sending our young people over to risk their lives in ANY war is the right choice or the wrong one. What I am trying to say, is that I believe that our armed service people sign up for all the right reasons. They are protectors of the weak - defenders of the downtrodden - guardians of oppressed. I am trying to say that whether or not we agree or disagree with war, these veterans, young or old, have tried to make a difference. They have tried to make the world a better place to be, and I believe they have succeeded.

For that, I ask that you respect their service and continue to support them in their heroic efforts. As you did today, come out to Remembrance Day services and bring your friends and neighbours with you. Take a minute to thank a veteran for trying to make the world a better place to be. We MUST remember them.