Waves of Screaming Enemy

Heroes Remember

Waves of Screaming Enemy

Transcript

The North Koreans and the Chinese that, that were backing the, the North Koreans, they were coming in waves and waves and waves. There might have been maybe 40 or 50 Canadians in one, one group and there'd be two thousand Chinese and North Koreans in another group, coming at you. And they never stopped. If their first bunch went down, like you shot them or, like, if they were shot up, they just walked right over top of them and keep right on coming. I feel sorry for a lot of the Chinese people that come in waves, that had no weapons. They were just waves coming and when one bunch went down, the second bunch come and picked up whatever and walked right over barbed wire fences and everything else. They just draped them over and kept going. You see people coming, you don't know . . . You shoot, you shoot at them, you don't know if you hit ‘em or not. If they fall, somebody's got ‘em, but you're not sure if you did it. It's a feeling that, that you're next to me, you're my buddy, you're next to me. He's not gonna get you, if I can get him. Now, with the Bren gun, you can cover a lot of ground and you can take a lot of shots, and if you hit 'em, who knows. But they had more than one Bren gunner doing the same thing, and they have the other guys that are with the rifles, doing the same thing too, so you, you don't know if you shot ‘em or somebody else shot ‘em. But you know that, that he's not gonna get near your buddy, if you can help it. So, that's the protection that one another gives to one another, if we can do that. If we're in a, in a situation like that, your fear is kind of, have . . . puts you above being really scared. But you're scared. You're so scared, that you're beyond scared. Well, you, you hear screaming, you hear bursts of fire, you know like, just, steady fire, steady fire. And then all of a sudden, it will break, and then it'll start all over again. And that goes on and on and on for hours and that's the way it was.

Description

Mr. Gowing recalls how the North Korean and Chinese forces would attack in waves, sending thousands of troops against 40 - 50 Canadian soldiers.

Gerald Edward Gowing

Mr. Gowing was born in 1931 in Listowel, Ontario. At the age of nine, Mr. Gowing was taken in by the Stratford division of the Children's Aid Society because his mother had passed away and his father was unable to take care of him. Looking for adventure, and to take part in something with purpose, Mr. Gowing joined the army in October 1950, requesting to serve in Korea. Sent to Calgary, Alberta, for basic training at the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) barracks, he was only there a few weeks before shipping overseas in January 1951 as reinforcement Bren gunner for the 2nd Battalion PPCLI. Mr. Gowing saw heavy action in Korea, including the Battle at Kapyong (Hill 677) for which the entire battalion was later presented with a Presidential Citation medal, the highest award granted by the United States, outside of the US. Reluctant to return to Canada, Mr. Gowing left Korea in May 1952, after his tour had ended. He left the military in November of 1952, but returned in November of 1955, to serve as a signaller for three years before being discharged for good.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 03:15
Person Interviewed:: Gerald Edward Gowing
War, Conflict or Mission:: Korean War
Location/Theatre:: Korea
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
Rank:: Private
Occupation:: Bren Gunner

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03