Lest we forget

Canada’s Korean War vets finally got some recog- nition last month from the Veterans Affairs Department. Every July 27 is to be observed as Korean War Veterans Day.

Sadly, the PR folks at Veterans Affairs and the Royal Canadian Legion have dropped the ball. No one, at either the Canmore or Banff Legions or a Calgary Legion I chose at random, knew of it.

Canada became involved on Aug 7, 1950, with the creation of the Canadian Army Special Force — part of the Commonwealth Brigade in support of the main U.S. army force.

In the war’s three years, 516 Canadians were killed from among the 26,791 soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part. Another 7,000 participated between the cease-fire and 1955.

The Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry played a pivotal role in stemming a mass assault on April 22, 1953, by North Korean and Chinese Communist soldiers.

The Korean War Vets official history says: “A defensive position was established with the 2nd PPCLI at Hill 677, the 1st Middlesex Regiment to the left and the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) to the right ... The Patricias, completely surrounded during part of the action and supplied by air, defended one height firmly during two days and a night of heavy fighting, losing 10 men killed and 23 wounded. For their gallant action, the 2nd PPCLI and the 3rd RAR received the U.S. Presidential Citation.”

If American soldiers were involved, no doubt there’d be a heart-pounding movie about it. But we Canucks, we’re so self-effacing, so boring. And the forgotten war — destined to remain just that?