Arrival and smell

Heroes Remember

Arrival and smell

Transcript

When war breaks out in Korea, the mood of the Cold War is such that many western nations fear this is the prelude to a world wide communist offensive. China has recently become communist and the Soviet Union has ensured a strong communist party is in place before pulling out of North Korea. The United Nation's decision to intervene in Korea was a response to an act of aggression. The first Canadians on the scene, the ships HMCS Cayuga, Athabaskan and Sioux, arrive in August 1950. They have already taken part in a number of coastal water patrols and shore cannonades by the time the bulk of our ground forces start landing in Pusan throughout 1951. Korea was a country that we didn't even know existed.

Korean landscape.

They didn’t really tell us anything about Korea itself, but, it began to get exciting.

Men on parade.

We did 23 days on there. We ended up in Yokohama, Japan,

Ships in a convoy.

that’s where we, that’s where we got off there and from there then we went to Pusan. I think my first reaction, first sense was the smell,

Aerial view of Pusan.

the smell was terrible. You could smell shit from about 50 miles off shore. The harbor at Pusan was not the most delightful place to... to land that’s for sure.

Soldiers gettting ready to board a ship.

Two million people, no water, no toilets, that doesn't smell very good. Well, them days Korea was filthy.

Military vehicles travelling through a town.

The rice paddies had human waste in it. They collected human waste to fertilize the soil. We weren't allowed to eat anything grown over there.

Korean refugees.

Description

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:: February 3, 2010
Duration:: 2:19
Person Interviewed:: War Korean
War, Conflict or Mission:: Korean War

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Arrival and smell

Heroes Remember