Lt. Cdr. Frank Saunders, was Nootka's XO during her two tours of duty in Korea in 1951 and 1952. He was also the temporary CO for Nootka in October 1951, until Captain Steele took over. His son, Jim Saunders, provides the photos below. All photos are credited to the collection of the late Frank Saunders.
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| Lt.Cdr. Frank Saunders. |
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| Frank Saunders after action.. |
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| Small boat raiding party.
This photo of #2 Sampan Boarding Party appeared in a 1953 newspaper
clipping. During a night raid, this party stopped and boarded a North
Korean mine laying junk off the west coast of Korea. In the engagement,
one Korean who resisted capture was killed and five others surrendered.
Each of the North Koreans was armed with a machine gun when captured.
Front row (L-R) : LS Donald McCoy of Halifax and Orillia Ont; LCdr Frank Saunders of Halifax; AB Murray Menservey, Sandy Point Nfld; and LS W.F. Wickson of Toronto. Rear row (L-R) : AB Wallace Murray of Moncton and Halifax; LS Gerald Mason of Oshawa; Robert Hornecastle of Saint John NB and AE James MacKinnon.of Bras d'Or NS. Frank Saunders was leader of the party. (From the Frank Saunders collection) |
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| Another small boat raiding party. |
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| This was the first RCN sailor aboard Nootka to take allegiance to Queen Elizabeth in 1952. (Photo credit unknown) |
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| Fraank Saunders greeting his aunt Grace, wife of the Japanese ambassador T.C. Davis in 1953. |
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| Nootka ship's company ball, sometime after 1953. |
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| Russ Hands (L) and Frank Saunders (R) in 1952. (From the Frank Saunders collection) |
| All photos in this table from the Frank Saunders collection |
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| Nootka off the west coast of Korea in 1952. |
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| Squid exploding. |
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| Stern view from helicopter. |
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| HMCS Nootka- Burial at sea. Here, the coffin is being loaded aboard the ship. (DND photo # HS 62155 provided by Eric Ruff) |
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| HMCS Nootka- Burial at sea. (DND photo # HS 62152 provided by Eric Ruff) |
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| HMCS Nootka - Burial at sea. A coffin for a burial at sea is most unusual and would not be permitted nowadays. (DND photo # HS 62156 provided by Eric Ruff) |
| In the old days of sailing ships, those that died at sea were usually sewn into canvas (the man's hammock if he was in the navy) with some type of weight at his feet (cannonball if navy) and, tradition has it, the final stitch would go through the deceased nose - it would wake him up if he wasn't dead. |
Credits and Contributors:1) Jim Saunders. <Jim-Saunders(at)shaw.ca>
2) Eric Ruff <ebruff(at)ns.sympatico.ca>
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April 4/17