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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

James Joseph White

In memory of:

Gunner James Joseph White

November 21, 1950

Military Service


Service Number:

N-800009

Age:

23

Force:

Army

Unit:

Royal Canadian Artillery

Division:

2nd Field Regiment

Additional Information


Born:

May 11, 1927
Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Enlistment:

August 11, 1950
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Only child of Joseph S. and Agnes (née O'Leary) White of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Husband of Florence and father of Robert Joseph.

Commemorated on the Wall of Remembrance, Canoe River Memorial, Korean War Cairn and Canoe River Monument.

Commemorated on Page 78 of the Korean War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

FOX HARBOUR CEMETERY
Newfoundland, Canada

Grave Reference:

South West Corner

Location:

PLACENTIA BAY, NEWFOUNDLAND

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star November 1950. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star November 1950. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram November 1950. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram November 1950. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of James Joseph White– This is my great grandfather James Joseph White who was killed getting up to get a pack of smokes when the trains collided in the canoe river crash. i have more photos and documents that his son (my grandfather) received. my grandfather was only a year old when James passed.
  • Memorial at Canoe River– Memorial at Canoe River train crash site.  In November of 1950 thousands of soldiers were sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, for training before their journey to Korea. They went by rail.  At 10:35 in the morning of November 21st, a troop train carrying 340 soldiers - soldiers of the 2nd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery - was just east of the village of Canoe River, British Columbia. An express train on the same track was speeding in the opposite direction. And the two crashed, head-on. The troop train was tossed into the air, its engine thrown back onto the coach cars behind it. Steel cars were shattered by other steel cars in a raging inferno.  Seventeen Canadian soldiers died that morning, and the bodies of four of them were never found. Many of those who escaped death suffered horrible injury including massive burns.  The sacrifice made by the men at Canoe River was no less than that of all war veterans who died in the service of our country.  These Canoe River men also died so that others might live in peace. We remain eternally in their debt.
  • Monument– Reverse of Korean War Veterans War Memorial.  It is a memorial to the victims of the Canoe River crash. The monument is located in the Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
  • Inscription
  • Memorial Plaque– Memorial plaques for Gunner James Joseph White, Private Ronald Orin White, Private John Harold Williams and Private Roy Thomas Williams on the Korean Veterans National Wall of Remembrance in Meadowvale Cemetery, Brampton, Ontario.
  • Memorial– A section of the Korean Veterans National Wall of Remembrance in Meadowvale Cemetery, Brampton, Ontario. The memorial consists of a central section and 13 other sections containing a memorial plaque for each of the 516 Canadian service men who died while serving with the Canadian Forces in the United Nations operations in Korea. It was erected by the Korea Veterans Association of Canada and was dedicated on July 27, 1997.
  • Memorial– Central Section of Korean Veterans National Wall of Remembrance Part 1
  • Inscription– Central Section of Korean Veterans National Wall of Remembrance Part 2
  • Memorial– Central Section of Korean Veterans National Wall of Remembrance Part 3

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

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