MPVA Minister Park Sung Choon to Honour Canadian Veterans in Ottawa

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1 MPVA Minister Park Sung Choon to Honour Canadian Veterans in Ottawa Two impressive ceremonies will take place this week in Ontario; one at the Korean War Veterans National Wall of Remembrance in Brampton and the other at the Monument to Canadian Fallen and the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The first to take place will be the Korea Day ceremony on July 24, that traditionally is cosponsored by the South Korean Embassy and its ambassador, Veterans Affairs Canada, the Department of National Defence, City of Ottawa and the National Capital Unit 7 of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of Korea this year is the primary sponsor. The other major ceremony follows three days later. On July 27, National Korean War Veterans Day, which marks the 1953 signing of the Military Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War, more than 450 dignitaries and veterans will participate in a service at the Wall in Brampton. (More information on the service in Brampton will follow in a subsequent edition). Honourable Park Sung Choon to Host Korea Day Functions in Ottawa Those participating in the July 24 Korea Day ceremony in Ottawa will be honoured by the presence of a special dignitary from Korea, Honourable Park Chung Soon, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Park Chung Soon, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of the Republic of Korea, served as a major general in the ROK Army prior to his appointment by President Lee Myung-Bak. In his last army position General Park had been the head of the Korean Defence Intelligence Agency. Prior to that he had been commander of the ROK Army 9th Corps, and earlier in his career he had commanded the ROK 12th Infantry Division.

2 VAC Minister Steven Blaney is scheduled to meet with Minister Park and take the veterans's salute when they march past. Senator Yonah Martin of the Canadian Senate will also participate. Other dignitaries taking part in the Ottawa ceremony include General Walter Natynczk, Chief of the Defence Staff, LCol (Ret d) John Bishop, national president of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada, and Colonel Soo-won Lee, Defence Attache, Republic of Korea. Among the other Korean War veterans participating will be General (Ret d) Ramsey Withers, former Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General (Ret d) Charles H. Belzile, former commander of the Canadian Army, Major General (Ret d) Claude A. LaFrance, former fighter pilot and once chief of staff of the North American Aerospace Defence Command in Colorado Springs. Ambassadors or their designates from all of the nations that were allied with Canada and Korea during the Korean War will also participate in the main service at the National War Memorial. The KVA Canada officials will include Terry Wickens, past national president, Henri St. Laurent, president of the Quebec Region and former national president, and others. There will be officials and members of the Canada-Korea Society attending, led by President Young-hae Lee. The ceremonies begin with a service and wreath laying at the Monument to Canadian Fallen on Slater Street, opposite the National Arts Centre. The veterans and others will then move to the National War Memorial for placement of wreaths and a full memorial service. Wreaths will be placed by many representatives from the Diplomatic Corps. Monument to Canadian Fallen A special reception hosted and sponsored by Korea s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will be held at the grand Chateau Laurier Hotel, following the ceremonies. Minister Park will invest 11 members of KVA Canada s National Capital Unit with Ambassador for Peace Medals. It is the medal usually presented to veterans who are invited back to Korea to participate in the joint MPVA-ROK Korean Veterans Association revisit program.

3 Canada's National War Memorial in Ottawa

4 LComm (Ret d) Bill Black, president of the National Capital Unit has provided the names and synopsis biographies of the 11 veterans who will receive the medals from Minister Park. These veterans, for various reasons, have never been able to participate in a program in Korea or have been in Korea in a civilian capacity and have never been awarded the medal. The list of honourees is rather lengthy, but very interesting reading. It sheds light on the many high achievements and the good character of members of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada. General Ramsey Withers Lieutenant Ramsey Withers went to Korea directly after graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada with a commission in the Royal Canadian Signals. He arrived as a reinforcement in Korea, in June 1952, and was immediately posted to le Premier Battaillon du Royal Vingt-deuxieme Régiment to replace a casualty. He served with the Van Doos battalion until it left for home, in the spring of He then became Officer Commanding the Signal Wing of the 1st Commonwealth Division Battle School until repatriated in August of that year. Subsequently he served in command and staff positions from troop, squadron, unit, formation and command including Commander Forces Northern Region, in Yellowknife, and Commander Canadian Forces Europe before appointment as Vice-Chief and then Chief of the Defence Staff in the rank of General. He was the last veteran of the Korean War to be chief of his country's forces and re-visited Korea and laid a wreath at Kapyong (now Gapyeong) in He has been married to Alison Withers for 57 years. Their son James is retired on pension from the Canadian Forces. James and their twin daughters Leslie and Deidre, have enriched Ramsey and Alison Withers with eleven grandchildren, one of whom is on her third year teaching in Seoul. She annually lays a wreath in at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, in memory of Ramsey's comrade in the battalion, Lieutenant Arthur Herman, who was killed in action, on Hill 210, on 19 August Roger Barrette Mr. Barrette joined the Royal Canadian Navy in He was a 20-year old Engineering Mechanic who served in HMCS Haida in Korean Waters in 1952 and Haida, during her first tour in Korea spent more than half her 217 days on active patrol destroying trains and supporting ground troops. Having been fired on by

5 enemy shore batteries on several occasions she returned fire and destroyed her assailants. Two of her ship's company earned honours. The Captain, Commander Dunn Lantier was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Petty Officer Ralph Smith was awarded a Mentioned in Despatches for superb gun laying during action. Later Roger served as a midshipman with the Royal Canadian Navy and with his DVA credits from the Korean War he was accepted into university. After graduating as a lawyer and passing the bar he practiced his profession until his retirement. Fighting Jim Gunn Mr. Jim Gunn joined the Canadian Army in 1951.He was with the Royal Canadian Regiment in Korea assigned as a sniper. In May 1953 his battalion was overrun by an overwhelming assault force of the Chinese Army and many were killed and wounded on both sides. Hill 187 was the end of the fighting war for Jim because he and several of his platoon were hit hard by percussion grenades. Fighting at that point was hand to hand combat and Jim was knocked unconscious. When he awoke he found seven enemy soldiers staring him down with 'Burp' guns. Jim spent the next five months as a POW. After recovering from incarceration he returned to Canada and was posted to Germany with the NATO Brigade. After 10 years Jim retired from Army life and started a successful business until he recently retired. He is a staunch supporter of the Ottawa KVA Unit. Jon Jennekens Jon Jennekens served in Korea in 1953 with 42 Infantry Field Workshop, Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The Workshop was located south of the Imjin River, close to the historic Pintail and Teal Bridges. As a 1st Lieutenant, Jon was responsible for the recovery and repair of wardamaged wheeled and tracked vehicles from heavily mined (anti-tank and anti-personnel) rice fields and their return to service. In 1965, Jon returned to Korea as the Canadian member of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team that advised the Korean Atomic Energy Commission on the siting of its first nuclear-electric power plants. Later, as President of the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada, Jon served as a member of the Republic of Korea-Canada Joint Coordinating Committee on Nuclear Energy. As Deputy Director General of the IAEA, Jon visited Korea regularly from 1987 to 1993.

6 Jon is a longtime member of the Canada-Korea Society and served as a vice president and treasurer for many years. As a director with the Korea Veterans Association of Canada Unit 7 he is responsible for special projects assigned by the President. In 1987, Jon was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada. Ralph McClean Mr. Ralph ( Mick) McClean joined the Royal Canadian Navy in July After completing officer training he sailed with the Royal Navy in Asia and Europe until the Canadian Navy brought him home to the Pacific Command to sail in HMCS Athabaskan on her second deployment to the Korea War. Mick was with the Athabaskan when she and crew were awarded the Syngman Rhee Presidential Unit Citation for exceptionally meritorious service and heroism during its support of the Incheon Landings and its operations in carrying out armed landing parties in support of the ROK infantry. After the Korean War Mick Was promoted and was selected to command the first Tribal Class destroyer propelled with Gas Turbines. Mick served in the RCN for 33 Years and upon retirement, with his valuable experience, he was employed with the shipbuilding industry that constructed the modern ships Canada sails today. Joseph Quinn Mr. Joseph Quinn joined the Canadian Army in 1937 and served through World War Two as a medic. In March,1952 he was dispatched to the 37 Field Ambulance in Korea where as a senior NCO he served in the front lines treating the soldiers injured on Hills 355 and 149. Later in 1952 he contracted hemorrhagic fever and was hospitalized at a MASH unit. After a very short recovery he was desperately needed at the front - so back to the Hills of Korea again, caring for the wounded. Later, when organizing the helicopter evacuation of the injured and dead of the Royal Canadian Regiment Joseph, too, was wounded when a phosphorus bomb exploded its deadly charge, injuring the team of medics. His wounds led to his own evacuation to the Commonwealth hospital in Kure, Japan where he was treated. Although medically unfit to return to Korea he remained in Japan treating the wounded until he returned to Canada in April, Joseph was with the Army medical corps serving in ships and field bases until his retirement from the Canadian Army in Joseph is 91 years young and been married to his wife Edith for 69 years.

7 Roland Renaud Mr. Roland Renaud volunteered to join the Canadian Army in January, 1951, when he knew his fellow Canadians were still fighting in the hills of Korea. After completing training as a gunner he joined with the field artillery and was off to the battlegrounds in Korea. Roland was a team member of the Royal Canadian Artillery. His job was at the front coordinating and plotting the incoming data that was then accurately and quickly forwarded to the Canadian 25 pounder gun batteries. When the Canadian or allied troops needed covering artillery fire, the FOO (forward observation officer) radioed to Roland, who plotted the grid references. Many lives depended upon his relaying data with speed and pinpoint accuracy. Often, at best, the enemy was only meters away from the Canadians - at worst the Canadians had been overrun. Roland's job ended on July 27, 1953 when the Military Armistice Agreement was signed. However, Roland remained a while longer before returning to Canada in October After his honourable release he was employed with Canada Post, serving for 35 years. Robert Stoddard Mr. Robert Stoddard, an American serviceman, joined active service from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1950 as a First Sergeant in a replacement company that provided troops for Korea. He became a second lieutenant in 1952 and shortly after was assigned to the 839th Aviation Engineer Battalion as a company executive officer. It was a special category army unit serving with the U.S. Air Force. Their assignment was to construct a 6,000-foot concrete runway with 1,500-foot asphalt overruns. The runway was built in the town of Osan-ni, about 30 kilometers west of Suwon. This runway, called K-55, was completed by mid-1953 and he was reassigned to a battalion rebuilding an old Japanese air field at Kunsan (now Gunsan), a west coast port city, south of K-55. Mr. Stoddard left Korea shortly after the war ended and returned to the U. S. Army Reserve. He retired as a major in He and Mrs. Stoddard eventually came to Canada and found camaraderie in joining the Korea Veterans Association in Ottawa. They are now Canadian citizens enjoying their retirement years with fellow veterans of the Korean War. Lloyd Swick

8 Mr. Lloyd Swick served with the Calgary highlanders in World War Two as a platoon commander during the liberation of Northwest Europe. After the war he attended university and received a degree in science. When war broke out in Korea he enlisted with the 1st PPCLI and served as a company commander during the winter and spring of 1952 in the Korean hills. Lloyd, already battle hardened from WWII found the monotony of bunker life, notwithstanding the odd enemy interruption, time for him to reflect and to be saddened in witnessing the plight of hundreds of thousands of the Korean civilians and especially the orphaned children who were lost and wandering in the ugliness of war. In June Lloyd was posted as chief instructor to train the army NCOs in battle tactics at Uijongbu. He returned to Canada in the late fall of Following his military service he was appointed Chief Public Protection Officer for the Canadian government. Alex Taschereau Mr. Alex Taschereau was a Lieutenant with 3rd Battalion R22eR in Korea, which replaced the 1st R22eR in February, During his tour as intelligence officer he was tasked to visit the companies in the front line (often at night ) to gather intelligence for I Corps command. In May his Van Doos company relieved a company of PPCLI on the Jamestown line in the Naecheon sector. Eventually, after many months in the lines as a platoon commander in D Company, his unit was replaced by the Duke of Wellington Rifles. After the war Alex was deployed to NATO in Europe. He received the Order of Military Merit in After 32 years of service, having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel, he retired from the Army and joined the Official Language Branch, with the Treasury Board of Canada. Peter Wilkins Peter Wilkins joined the navy in He became a weapons rating who sailed in HMCS Nootka for the Korean theatre of war in November On the 25th of January Nootka with sister ship HMCS Cayuga engaged the enemy shore batteries at Wolmi-do. After disabling the shore batteries Nootka continued coastal patrols with many encounters, engaging the enemy through the next seven months of her tour. She also ingeniously swept and destroyed mines, allowing access at closer range for

9 destroying bridges and trains, thus depriving the enemy of desperately needed munitions and supplies. Her crew went on raiding parties engaging enemy at close range and obtained vital information on enemy strength and identified supply dumps and artillery positions. HMCS Nootka departed the theatre of action on the 4th of June 1951, returning home to Halifax on August 21. Later Peter Wilkins joined the Submarine service and served in the Navy until his retirement in 1974