Commitment of Ground Forces

Heroes Remember

Commitment of Ground Forces

Transcript

We did not have the back up or the sustainability or the equipment to do a job with our Allies at that time. We could punch holes in the skies. Which we did. And we could sail circles around the buoy, which we did with the army and the navy, with the air force and the navy. I don’t mean to belittle what they did, but it does not require the same national commitment as putting a soldier in a fox hole with a weapon telling him to look the other guy in the eye. And that was the big cross in Korea. The first people sent there were sailors and airmen. Fine, that’s their job, but it was soldiers that the Allies wanted in there to put a foot on the ground and to look the other guy in the eye and say, “You ain’t going nowhere. You’re not gonna do what it was we think you’re intending to do.” So the commitment of ground forces, I think, is a major step in any confrontation and my background, obviously, leads me to think primarily of the soldiers involved. I am thankful that we’ve got airmen and sailors who can fulfill their part of the mandate and in fact perhaps provide the immediate response that is only possible in a country who does not want to go to war. Nobody wants to go to war, but it means that you can graduate yourself into it or gradually get into it or get into a supporting role. And if I was being blunt, I would say that the army has been scraped and skinned to the point where its resource and its manpower is hard pressed to do even advanced peacekeeping if I could do it. Peace making would be a very difficult proposition. The people are there and most of the skills are there but the resources in-depth is lacking.

Description

Mr. Pitts explains the importance of ground forces both during the Korean War and the missions our Canadian Forces soldiers are sent on today.

Herbert Pitts

Mr Pitts was born in Nelson, British Columbia in June of 1929. After graduating from high school, he entered a four-year program of the Canadian Services College at Royal Roads, graduating from the Royal Military College in June 1952. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant, in the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). On arrival in Korea in July, he served for a year as an Infantry Platoon Commander with 1st and 3rd Battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He was awarded the Military Cross for Gallantry and Leadership with that Regiment. Mr. Pitts remained in the Forces serving with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and the Canadian Airborne Regiment. He traveled extensively during his service, retiring as a Major General from National Defence Headquarters in 1978.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:11
Person Interviewed:: Herbert Pitts
War, Conflict or Mission:: Korean War
Location/Theatre:: Korea
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI)
Rank:: Platoon Commander

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Date modified:: 2019-06-20