Korea: Canada's Forgotten War

By John Melady and John Malady

Book Overview

In this revised edition, men from the army, navy, and air force are honoured for their bravery in the Korean War.

The Korean War (1950-53) forms a little-known but exciting part of Canada's military history. The heroism and sacrifice of Canadians who fought in this conflict as part of the United Nations force has often been ignored. In this lively, anecdotal book, John Melady combines archival material and interviews with many Korean veterans. The result is a vivid, intensely human account of the war from its first days, to heroic battles such as Kapyong, to fascinating and more obscure incidents such as the Koje prison camp insurrection, as well as personal stories of doctors, POWs, and journalists who witnessed the conflict, including Pierre Berton and Rene Levesque.

The men from across Canada who served and fought were forever changed by what they saw and experienced in this faraway land. Army, navy, air force all receive their share of long-overdue praise in this important book, which was originally published in 1983 but is now fully revised.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1459701321
• ISBN13: 9781459701328
• Release Date: December 2011
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

We fought in the war, too, Eh???

Listen, eh....Korea was Canada's forgotten war, too, eh? Melady wrote this book to point out that Canadian troops fought in those rice paddies and on those ridges, too. 516 Canadians died as a result of the Korean War. The book is more than battlefield stories. In sweeping prose Melady covers the post world war II tragedy of Korean division; how Maj. General Hodge hurt the process of rebuilding the south; and the desperate, sometimes comical, sometimes heroic, ROK resistance in the wars' early hours. Back in Canada, Melady shares stories of the rush to enlist..one fella with a scar from his neck to to his naval who claimed it was for an appendectomy; another guy in the medical corps, who told the psychiatrists he liked to go out at night and strangle sheep. But by far the most intriguing story is that of the mysterious Dr. Cyr, aka Fred Demara. From March to October 1951 this fellow masqueraded as Surgeon-Lieutenant Cyr and practiced medicine (admittedly often by stealing a look at a textbook or soliciting help from other medics) on the Cayuga for six months, even managing to pull one of the Captains teeth. Eventually, the real Dr. Cyr, back in New Brunswick, happened to read a story about himself in the newspaper. The ruse fell apart shortly afterwords. Still, the book is not all jest and off-the-cuff irony. Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry fought gallantly and tragically at Kapyong-ni in early 1951, preventing a breach in the UN lines and perhaps the fall of Seoul (again). For this they were awarded the Presidential Citation for 'Outstanding Heroism'-- the only Canadians to ver receive this award. Quite an accomplishment for soldiers who, a few months before, were afraid the War would be over before they arrived in Korea.