Scrounging for Equipment

Heroes Remember

Scrounging for Equipment

Transcript

In Korea, we were not well supplied or looked after by our Canadian Government. They had just finished World War Two. It was five years later, so the equipment that we had to work with was World War Two equipment which was, you know, not that good. So we had to do a lot of scrounging from the Yankees, you know. You gave them a bottle of Canadian Club and we got a sleeping bag or give them a couple of bottles you can get a cot or things. We did a lot of scrounging so we could survive, you know. We had the clothing, but not the clothing for the temperature and the wet weather that was over there. There’s one story I remember about scrounging is we had to dig gun pits in the rocky country. It’s awful hard to do, it’s, it’s, you know, pick and shovel and a lot of sweat. Somehow, some, a couple of the people took off one day with a flat bed and they went down to Pusan and they stayed there for two or three days. And one day, the Americans were unloading a bulldozer so one of these chaps, after the bulldozer was on the pier, the chap walked up to the bulldozer as if he knew what he was doing, jumped in it and drove it onto the flat bed. The next thing we know, that we have a bulldozer in the unit. That’s not stealing. That’s scrounging, that’s scrounging. And we named the bulldozer Zebra 5, I think, Z-5, and it helped us a lot digging gun pits, we didn’t have to do much sweating anymore, little things like that.

Description

Mr. Patrick recalls scrounging from the Americans and the day they obtained a bull dozer for their unit!!

Errol Patrick

Mr. Errol Patrick was born in Montreal in 1930. After his parents separated, Mr. Patrick was sent to Trinidad to live with his grandfather. His grandfather held the position of school master until his death in 1942. In 1945, Mr. Patrick returned to Canada to live with his father. He then made the decision to enlist for the Korean War, joining with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Regiment as an artillery soldier. After his service in Korea, Mr. Patrick continued his military career, travelling to Germany in 1957 and that same year he married. He carried on as an instructor for eight years with the Battery Command post of the No. 1 RCHA. In 1966, Mr. Patrick returned to Germany and was promoted to staff sergeant taking on the duty of commanding the troops. After returning to Canada he was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer at Petawawa, Ontario and at the end of his career held rank of Chief Warrant Officer of Artillery while stationed in Gagetown, New Brunswick. In 1985 Mr. Patrick retired from the military with 35 year service. He and his wife raised three children all of whom became very successful.

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