Korea was a different war.
Heroes Remember
Korea was a different war.
Transcript
Royal 22nd regiment soldiers standing around with kits on their backs.
22nd Regiment, the Vandoos because they were very short of officers. And I said yes I’d go, so that’s who I was with when I went to Korea, the Vandoos. A different war from World War II, I mean we were living in trenches and you had not only the enemy to contend with but you had the monsoons and allRocky mountain area covered in snow.
this sort of stuff. By day everything would be fairly quiet, no one dared showed themselves. Then at night the fun wouldSoldiers sitting in tent as officer shows them a map.
start, the rear patrols would go out and the Chinese would send out their patrols and eventually you would clash, you know. I think the United Nations at that time did us a great disservice because they kept telling the Chinese we were not going to go North, but the Chinese never said they weren’t going to come South. And so the most that they could fear from us would be a raid maybe, but when they attacked us, they came in the thousands, you know. It’s hard to believe because you can see all these figures coming up and you start firing on them of course, they start to drop. I don’t know if youSoldiers overlook rocky area and talk to each other.
have fear or not, uh, but there doesn’t seem to be any end to them, you know, and I guess the thought in your mind is, “When are they gonna stop?” And sometimes they just overwhelmed positions.Description
Mr. Bowen describes general conditions in the Korean war zone, and the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Chinese.
Gerald Bowen
Gerald R. Bowen was born in Ottawa, Ontario on October 13, 1925. He attended Lisgard High School, and was a paperboy. His family had prior military experience. His uncle had served in the Air Force and his father in the Army, later becoming an historian with the Department of National Defence. Mr. Bowen enlisted in the Navy where he became a telegrapher, serving aboard a Royal Canadian Navy frigate on convoy duty in the North Atlantic until the war ended. He left the service for a brief time and re-enlisted in the Canadian Army, where he became a paratrooper and a specialist in sabotage. He later served as a peacekeeper in Cyprus. Mr. Bowen’s extensive experience in the Canadian military offers us some very informative and perceptive anecdotes.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 2:10
- Person Interviewed:
- Gerald Bowen
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Korean War
- Location/Theatre:
- Korea
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal 22e Régiment
- Rank:
- Major
Related Videos
Ottawa, the day that war is declared
Mr. Bowen describes the atmosphere in Ottawa the day that the Second World War is declared, through the eyes of a fifteen year old paperboy.
Preparing to go to sea
Mr. Bowen describes his basic training and becoming a telegraphist. He describes a ‘novel’ approach to being taught Morse Code.
Women love a man in a Navy uniform.
Mr. Bowen discusses how shore leave was enhanced by the appeal of the Naval uniform to women.
Battle station or prison?
Mr. Bowen describes his action station, a small room directly above the screws, when his frigate was in a combat situation. He reflects on the fact that there would have been no escape had the vessel been torpedoed astern.
The North Atlantic could be very rough.
Mr. Bowen describes in very clear terms the violence wreaked by a North Atlantic storm, and the impact such storms had on a convoy.
Hunting down a U-boat
Mr. Bowen describes attacking a U-boat in the English Channel, and how the shallowness of the water resulted in the depth charges also rupturing the bottom plates of his frigate.
Rescuing victims of torpedoed vessels
Mr. Bowen describes the experience of seeing a ship torpedoed and the difficulty of rescuing oil-soaked survivors. He also describes two very emotional events, a terrible rescue and heartwarming Christmas gift.
German V2 rockets attack London
Mr. Bowen describes being personally affected by a V2 rocket attack while on shore leave in London, and goes on to offer his admiration of the resolve of British citizens in the face of these attacks.
Comparing Navy and Army life
Mr. Bowen describes feeling that the Army recognized and rewarded the efforts of its members far better than did the Navy.
Becoming a paratrooper
Mr. Bowen discusses in detail the physical training necessary to become a paratrooper, and describes the emotional turmoil that sometimes resulted from jumping out of an aircraft.
War isn’t always honourable.
Mr. Bowen describes his role setting booby traps for the enemy. He describes in detail eliminating an enemy stronghold on a hill nicknamed ‘Guerty’.
Recovering the dead
Mr. Bowen discusses the fact that the Chinese would set ambushes for stretcher bearers attempting to recover the dead, and would sometimes booby-trap the corpses.
Peacekeeping in Cyprus
Mr. Bowen offers his opinion on being called a ‘peacekeeper’ and goes on to describe patrolling Cyprus’ Green Line, which divided the Turks and Greeks.
Army officers are versatile.
Mr. Bowen offers his perspectives on how being an Army officer helped shape his attitudes and abilities
War is inevitable.
Mr. Bowen talks about ongoing conflict and its inevitability.
Remembrance Day
Mr. Bowen describes the emotional impact that Remembrance Day has on him and discusses how the war robbed him of his youth.
Humans weren’t the only enemy.
Mr. Bowen describes his rather humorous rescue of a buddy from a boa constrictor.
- Date modified: