He served on the Iroquois, and was on the Iroquois when it received a direct hit on October 2, 1952.  It wasn't until after the death of his father, my grandfather, in 1998, that he started to tell us the stories of the war.  Of course, I knew he was a veteran all my life, but he never told his "war stories", as he said it would have upset his father too much to know how close he came to loosing his son.  When I was  growing up, I loved looking at the pictures he took while onboard the ships he served on.

Several years ago, when my daughter was in grade 10 or 11, she had to do an assignment on the importance of Armistice Day. We went through Dad's pictures, and she used some of them to emphasize her belief on the importance of Armistice Day as she knew first hand from the stories of her grandfather, "her hero".  Her teacher couldn't understand where she would get actual pictures of a war. My daughter explained that they were real, and that her grandfather is a Korean Veteran.  I don't know exactly what her teacher thought afterwards, but the comment on the assignment was that it was a very special assignment.

Once during my father's story telling, he said that, "I spent  my 24th birthday picking up the body parts of my friends and cleaning up after the strike."  If I recall correctly, he was a gunner and was near the area that took the hit.  He joined the Iroquois #217, when she was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy and then returned to Korea for a second tour of duty.

He also served in the Cayuga, and was on it when it left the west coast of Canada, July 1950, with the Athabaskan and the Sioux to go to Sasebo Harbour, Japan.  They were the first employed in escort and patrol duties, and later took part in the bombardment of enemy positions.  In January 1952, the Cayuga came under fire at different times.

My father is a very proud Veteran, and is a member of the local Korean Veterans Association.  For the past couple ofyears, he has laid the wreath in remembrance both on November 11, and July 1.  I must also say I'm very proud of my father. While I never followed in his footsteps and joined the navy, my sister did, and she is currently stationed in Ottawa with the Naval Reserves.

I thank all our veterans and those currently serving in the military, for having the courage to serve and defend ourcountry and way of life.