From Sleeves to Parkas

Heroes Remember

From Sleeves to Parkas

Transcript

It was hard for us to realize that we didn’t know that it was that severe during January and part of February. The change of weather, of temperature I should say, not weather, the change of temperature between the day and night happened at sunset and there was a variation of about 25-30 degrees all of a sudden within ¾ of an hour where in terms we were almost in short sleeves, you know, because the sun was there and it was hot. It was hot sun. All of a sudden you had to jump into your parkas, your winter parkas, not something to cut wind, just the heat of yourself that you had gathered during the day. So that’s when we were out of the bunkers. And in the bunkers we had to heat them.

Description

Under extreme conditions, Mr. Charlands tells of how he and the troops dealt with the severe change in temperatures.

Claude Charland

Mr. Claude Charland was born February 27, 1929 in Montreal, Quebec. As an only child and born during the Great Depression, Mr. Charland was placed in a boarding school in hopes of experiencing a better life. After obtaining a high level of education, he made the choice to join the military. In 1948, he took part in the Canadian Officer Training Corp and underwent infantry training in Camp Borden followed by additional training in Val Cartier. In 1950 the Korean War started and Mr. Charland became an instructor for francophone officer recruits. In 1951, joining as a callout, Mr. Charland chose to be part of the Korean War. He joined with the 3rd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment and upon retirement held rank of Lieutenant. Mr. Charland holds great pride for his service during Korean War. In 2018 during the Korean Olympics, Mr. Charland had the great honour and privilege to be the torch bearer as part of Team Canada and carried the torch 100 metres through the rink grounds where he had served and played hockey many years before. Mr. Charland retired from the military in 1982 and remains very active in his community.

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