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Pray to Survive

Heroes Remember

Transcript
To me, to survive I prayed a lot. I prayed to God, you know, and I'll see tomorrow. And I thank God I see the sun coming up in the morning, again I prayed to God I'll see at night to see that sun come up again. That's my daily life there. If you don't pray, if you don't have any faith, it must be an awful life. It must be cause you know. Dad gave me a Saint Christopher medal and I wore it around my dog tag, I wasn't supposed to wear that but I wore it anyway and told them you know this was, I believe this was what was going to bring me back, you see. And I still believe that's what brought me back. Prayers brought me back not the training, not my, my knowledge to survive, you know, in battle, I think. God brought me back, you see, I believe.
Description

Mr. Simon attributes his survival to his spirituality and daily prayer.

Stephen Simon

Stephen Simon, the sixth of ten children, was born in Big Cove, New Brunswick on February 19, 1932. After finishing grade eight on the reserve, he attended school off the reserve where he faced a lot of discrimination. He often fished with his father, who was a police officer at Big Cove. Mr. Simon enlisted at the age of eighteen, took his basic training in Camp Borden, and became a qualified paratrooper on December 22, 1950. After arriving in Korea, he trained as a radio operator, and served in that capacity until the end of his military service. In 1958, Mr. Simon’s skills were highlighted when he served in a top security communications centre.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
1:24
Person Interviewed:
Stephen Simon
War, Conflict or Mission:
Korean War
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Royal Canadian Regiment
Rank:
Sergeant

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