Description
Mr. Simon describes working in a top security communications centre during his post-war military career.
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.
Transcript
I was a, like I said, you know, I had clearance, security, top secret clearance in 1958. So I was sent to a world-wide communication centre to provide communications and receive communications of top secret material and stuff like that, even before it was acted on. I received tapes, I read them, I transfer them to the proper places. I was located in the area of what they call a top secret room. I had one line of receivers, one line of transmitters, one line of telecommunications, you see. When you do your typing and your transfer from one information to another information area, you see. This is including CBC material, even before it was announced on the news.