We Never Forgot Them.

Heroes Remember

We Never Forgot Them.

Transcript

It was great when we left to come back home because we were over there something like eleven months. That’s travel time too eh? And the war ended while I was there as well. Or ceasefire, it wasn’t a war, ceasefire. Going there and coming back we went , in port, out of port, in port, out of port, all the way back. So a lot of time was part of the Korean trip as well. It was exciting. I loved it. They called it “The Forgotten War” but I like to say how do you tell the five hundred and some soldiers over there that are buried? It wasn’t a forgotten war. We never forgot them. We have our two memorials here, once a year we are at a memorial remembering all those guys. Other than that, it’s because there wasn’t a world war. That’s why it was called the forgotten war. In other words, the sooner they forget about it, it’s gone. It wasn’t gone to us.

Description

Reflecting back on the Korean service given by Canadians, Mr. Guertin expresses the need to remember.

George Guertin

Mr. George Guertin was born in Ottawa October 16, 1931. With 9 family members, Mr. Guertin experienced a fairly rough childhood growing up a time when the Depression hit families very hard. Through Children's Aid Society, Mr. Guertin had the opportunity to move in with a new family and life seemed to improve. As he became old, with the support from a friend Mr. Guertin made the choice to volunteer for the Korean War and found himself recruited with the navy, accepting training as an ordinary seaman specializing in radar technology and travelled onboard the HMCS Huron to Korea. When the Korean war ended, Mr. Guertin remained in the navy for several more years where he became injured onboard the Labrador, in the artic, and sustained injuires caused cost him his naval career. Mr. Guertin loved the navy life and never wanted to leave. After medical discharge Mr. Guertin accepted a job with the Post Office in Ottawa where he and his wife retired and remain today. Mr. Guertin is an active member with Dominion Command, belongs to the National Color Party in Ottawa, a lifetime member with his legion and since 1990 has played an active role as member with the Korean Cultural Centre.

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