Training in Pusan

Heroes Remember

Training in Pusan

Transcript

Eisenhower, no pardon me, MacArthur, he made a landing on Inchon with quite a force and it cut off a big section of their army and cuts off their supplies and that took the pressure off all the landing like in Pusan for troops to come in and more equipment. We were there roughly, say maybe a month. Pusan... not even a month, no. Soon as we got organized together and get some equipment we moved to, if I pronounce it right, Maryang. It's a river where the commonwealth was going to start bringing in troops, like New Zealand, Australia and that. We were in there and this was a part of a training program too, to get us into the hills and move with our equipment through the hills; how to handle ourselves and people learned how to communicate better because it was one mountain after another and after a short stay in Seattle and flat land in Alberta and then the big ship. I think it was a 23 day crossing. We still had sea-legs on us, we were bouncing all over. You would think you were bouncing as you walked. So this mountainous country we had to be trained for it. The Americans wanted us in the lines right away but Brigadier Rockingham, "No way, their not trained to go into the hills". Somewhere along the river he said, "I don't want another Hong Kong." Figured we weren't ready for it yet, not for the mountainous country. Interviewer: What was he referring to when he said he didn't want another Hong Kong? Well you figure out there when Canadian troops went to Hong Kong, they didn't last too long. They didn't have proper weapons. They didn't have ammunition or nothing. They couldn't do nothing. They weren't trained for it. It's a different, uh, different terrain, and that's what we were going into. Interviewer: So the Canadian Brigade was training with the other Commonwealth units? Well once they all got together, yes. The "Patch" were over there first. On every thing it's hard to, you know so many years have gone by the R.C.R's and the Vandoos and the whatnot were still in Seattle, so we were put with the British and that and with Americans when we started to move up to the front. Had all our equipment and that. Interviewer: What month and year was it that the PPCLI arrived in Korea? It was December 1950, around the 16th, just before Christmas. So they kind of gave us a Christmas bash and then shortly after that we moved into our training area and at that time I'd say maybe 20 miles from where we were. We were bivouaced in a school It was rough there because they had a big barbed wire fence around us and the civilian population... they were starving. You'd see little kids, little kids there, they're out there and they've got their hands out and they're starving. Interviewer: That had an effect on you men, when you'd see this? Oh yeah. Interviewer: What could you do? Well, I got my rations. I don't know how many times, nearly everybody would go out and give them to the kids. You couldn't eat there and see those little wee kids there, big bellies, were just starving, skinny little arms on them. They just had nothing. I was kind of glad to get out of there. It was hard to see. You couldn't do nothing for them. Thousands were pouring in from up north. Interviewer: But you men did what you could. Oh yeah, I think everybody was along there you know, when you got your rations most of it went to the kids along there. They'd do anything. Polish your boots, anything at all. You know, try and get something off you, because they had nothing. They were in rags. It was terrible. The whole area was terrible.

Description

Mr. Chrysler describes his arrival in Pusan, the initial mountain training and the horror of seeing hundred of starving children in the streets.

William Chrysler

William Chrysler was born on May 4, 1930 in Hamilton, Ontario. He vividly remembers the news reports of the events of the Second World War. As a teenager, he enlisted in the Canadian Militia with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. At the age of 20 years, he enlisted in the Canadian Army and was with the first group of volunteers sent to Korea in 1950.

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