Lance Corporal Gaston Francoeur

Son of Arthur Francoeur and Alma Castonguay of Casselman, Ontario. Brother of Roger, Jean Paul, half-brother Leandre, sister Irene and half sister Rachel.

He fought in World War II with the Fusiliers Mont-Royal. He took part in the Normandy landings and fought in Caen, Normandy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany until the end of the war on May 8, 1945. 

He voluntarily enlisted in the Canadian Army Special Force to serve in Korea and was transferred to the 1st Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment. He left for overseas on March 2, 1952, arriving in Japan and then South Korea. The Canadian brigade stretched between the villages of Paujolgol and Kojanhari-Saemal, with the regiment defending the left flank. He was killed in action by the Chinese.

His name was inscribed on the cenotaph of the Korean War Memorial in Meadowvale Cemetery, Brampton, Peel, Ontario, erected in 1997 to commemorate the 516 Canadians killed in action between 25 June 1950 and 27 July 1953, as well as on the Korean War Memorial in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. An identical monument can be found at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Pusan (South Korea).