Taking on the Sniper Role

Heroes Remember

Taking on the Sniper Role

Transcript

I was what they called officially counter sniper. I guess the best way to explain it is I had put in for the sniper section before we went to Korea but it was filled so they put me in the “I” section. In any case, we came off in our second feature on 355 and the battalion moved off of that and we went in to a four or five week semi-rest area behind the line somewhere down by the B echelon area. And they came forward on the second day and they asked me, “Zuber, did you still want to be in the sniper section?” And I said, “Yes,” and he said, “Fine, you made it!” Our sniper section had basically been wiped out on 355 with heavy shell fire. The guys had been killed. The colonel was not going to build a new one. A sniper section is probably about six guys, you work in pairs so it would be three, two man teams. In any case, he had been warned by brigade that the next position which will be our final position in Korea, it was called the Hook. It was, I guess, at the south end of the Samichon Valley. And enemy sniper activity by the Chinese had been extremely intensive for the last six months. The British and Black Watch had been up there and the Americans, American marines. They had all suffered from the Chinese sniper activity. So the brigade commander told the colonel you would be wise to put together your sniper section as a counter sniper to hold these bastards back, you know. So that was my job. Al Craig was my partner and we trained intensively. I remember Sgt MacPherson who had been with the Canadian army in Holland during the Second World War, he told us, he said, “Choose one of the fellows that’s going to be your partner. I want you to do everything together, find out what he can’t do for you and you cover each other,” type of thing. So I turned to this fellow and I had never met him before and I said, “Do you want to marry me?” He said, “Sure!” So that was it, we were partners. We became good friends though and he passed away a few years ago in Fredericton. But Al and I were the most active ones up there.

Description

Mr. Zuber shares the story of how he was selected for the sniper section.

Edward "Ted" Zuber

Mr. Edward “Ted” Zuber was born October 16, 1932 in Montreal, Quebec. As a child, he was born with the gift of painting. Although not enthralled with school, Mr. Zuber did graduate and then went on to Queens University (Fine Arts). When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he was adamant to enlist and serve his country. He became a parachutist with the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. Arriving in Korea in 1952, he took on the role of sniper spending much of his time on the front lines. During this time, Mr. Zuber produced many drawings and, upon returning to Canada, presented thirteen of his canvas collections to the Canadian War Museum. Presently known as the unofficial war artist for Korea, Mr. Zuber’s paintings have become very popular. His painting “Freeze” has been unveiled in honour of the 65th Anniversary of the Korean War. Mr. Zuber has great pride in his service during the Korean War and is honoured to have been recognized for his artwork. Present day, Mr. Zuber finds himself in his studio continuing to paint the images of his wartime experiences, images that never seem to go away. Mr. Zuber resides in Kingston, Ontario with his wife and family.

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