KAMLOOPS — Canadian soldiers who fought in what is recognized as a turning point in the Korean War, have landed in the country’s capital city of Seoul, to mark the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong.
On April 24th, 1951 and lasting into the early hours of April 25th, the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry fought thousands of invading Chinese Communist troops. They stood their ground when other troops were withdrawing.
It was an epic victory in Canada’s war history. The Battle of Kapyong helped secure democratic freedom for South Korea, the heroic action of a single Canadian Battalion.
90-year old Alex Sim has a clear memory of the intense 3 day battle that April. A soldier of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, his unit withstood a fierce assault by Chinese and North Korean soldiers, atop a hill called 677.
“Two heavy machine guns from about 150 yards away opened up on us, and we had nowhere to go and the hills in Korea at that stage were bare like Kamloops, there was no place to hide, you just layed down on the ground and hoped for the best,” says Sim.
The Canadians managed to keep the Chinese from advancing on Seoul. When the Australians and other army units abandoned their positions, the Canadians couldn’t escape and fought on, despite being heavily outnumbered.
“7,000 Chinese troops to attack the Australians and Canadians, and there was probably 500 Canadians and 500 Australians, they were in front of you, on that side and that side and behind ya.”
Dirt, dust, people dying, the experience was terrifying. But Sim says the focus was to do the best job possible, even if that meant using something as small as a ration box for protection.
“I can remember grabbing this thing and holding it alongside my head and only thing I could think of was they can’t hit me in the head, they can hit me anywhere else, but not my head, never thought about being killed.”
For their courage, the PPCLI was honoured with the US Presidential Citation, the only Canadian unit to ever receive this prestigious award. Today, much has changed since the spring of 1951.
“As you’re walking down the sidewalk with your name tag and Canadian flag, and people walking down the street say thank you Canada, thank you Canada, they’re bowing down.”
The landmark battle saved the Korean people from Communism, and gave them the chance to grow as a Nation. The Canadian Battalion playing a pivitol role in making South Korea what it is today.
‘They suffered a great deal for 50 to 60 years under Japanese curruption, now they’re free to do what they want and they’ve done magnificent job,” says Sim.
