Sent out on a Search Party

Well we were navy, we weren’t army. The army had it rough over there. We did not. I always appreciate the army guys who went over there. They were in a lot more danger than we ever were because we weren’t ashore. We just had to mind our business out at sea and go in after the trains going up north. And there was an American fighter pilot, I forget the name of the aircraft went down into the Sea of Japan and we were sent out to search for them. We found one of the bodies. I was one of the guys who went in the whaler, the sea boat, a very long sea boat; brought him aboard the ship and up the ladder. We put him up where our stern guns were, covered him over with the canopy off of our boat and left him there until we got back to Sasebo, Japan. Didn’t find the other guy though, he was gone.

With an aircraft gone done in the sea of Japan, Mr. Guertin tells of his involvement in bringing a body from the water.

George Guertin

Mr. George Guertin was born in Ottawa October 16, 1931. With 9 family members, Mr. Guertin experienced a fairly rough childhood growing up a time when the Depression hit families very hard. Through Children's Aid Society, Mr. Guertin had the opportunity to move in with a new family and life seemed to improve. As he became old, with the support from a friend Mr. Guertin made the choice to volunteer for the Korean War and found himself recruited with the navy, accepting training as an ordinary seaman specializing in radar technology and travelled onboard the HMCS Huron to Korea. When the Korean war ended, Mr. Guertin remained in the navy for several more years where he became injured onboard the Labrador, in the artic, and sustained injuires caused cost him his naval career. Mr. Guertin loved the navy life and never wanted to leave. After medical discharge Mr. Guertin accepted a job with the Post Office in Ottawa where he and his wife retired and remain today. Mr. Guertin is an active member with Dominion Command, belongs to the National Color Party in Ottawa, a lifetime member with his legion and since 1990 has played an active role as member with the Korean Cultural Centre.