88-year-old Korean War vet recalls his fallen friends ‘throughout the year’

A Korea veteran who fought in one of Canada’s great forgotten battles. A third-generation soldier who helped keep the peace in conflict zones around the world. And a new member of a well-known infantry unit.

Those were a few of the current and former Canadian Forces members who gathered at Patricia Park in Edmonton’s Griesbach neighbourhood Saturday to remember Canada’s fallen.

It was one of several Remembrance Day events across the city in addition to ceremonies at the Shaw Conference Centre and University of Alberta Butterdome.

Some of their stories:

LIVING MEMORY OF A FORGOTTEN BATTLE

The names of many of Robert Craig’s friends are etched on a wall at Patricia Park, which honours fallen members of the storied Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) unit.

Craig was among the first Canadian troops to fight in the Korean War — so ahead of the rest of the pack that they had to rely on American mortars and artillery when they went into action.

“When we got in Korea we were the only Canadian battalion there,” said Craig, 88. “We had no support weapons.”

He lost friends at the pivotal Battle of Kapyong — a defensive struggle where the badly outnumbered Canadians helped push back a larger Chinese division threatening Seoul.

Craig joined the army in 1948 and was stationed in Ontario before being assigned to the 1st Battalion, PPCLI based in Calgary.

When the Korean War broke out, he was moved to a rifle company in the unit’s 2nd Battalion and arrived in Korea on Dec. 18, 1950.

He went on to serve in Germany, East Africa, Cyprus, the U.S. and the U.K. He specialized in weaponry and taught infantry around the world before leaving the Armed Forces in 1978.

He said Remembrance Day is a chance to honour friends he lost.

“Not only do they come to my mind at Remembrance Day, but throughout the year,” he said. “I think of them quite a bit really.”

FOUR GENERATIONS AND COUNTING

To say Gordon Descoteaux comes from a military family is an understatement.

Descoteaux was born in England in 1944 at the height of the Second World War. His father was a soldier, his great-grandfather fought in the First World War and his son is an army medic in Winnipeg.

Descoteaux joined the army in 1966 and served until 1999. Also a member of the PPCLI, his tours included peacekeeping missions in Cyprus and the Golan Heights. Like his father, he met his wife overseas, in his case during a tour in Germany.

“If I could do it, I would do it again if they wouldn’t have booted me out because I was too old at 55,” he said with a laugh.

This Remembrance Day, members of the PPCLI were split between Edmonton, a training exercise near Wainwright and deployment in Latvia.

Among those gathered at Patricia Park was 23-year-old Cpl. Trevor Denver, who transferred to the PPCLI in April from the Black Watch reserve unit in Montreal.

He joined the Armed Forces three years ago because it offered a good career path, he said. He also said he believes in defending people who can’t defend themselves.

“The day is (about) remembering,” he said. “It’s remembering who you are, where you come from, what your predecessors have done in the past.”