Surprise! Off to War

Heroes Remember

Surprise! Off to War

Transcript

Interviewer: When you had made your intention known, what was the reaction of your family? Well, mother didn't think I was going to go anyway, so that didn't matter. And... until one day I walked, came home, there's a little bit of a story here. I was taking a girl to the show one night and I happened to walk by the recruiting armouries, and there was a sign that said recruiters inside. So I went in, I haven't seen that girl since, and next morning I went to work. They said if I was still interested to go back in the afternoon, one o'clock. So I went to work, boss was home sick, and I got my cousin to look after my, I was with bread route then, and I told him to look after my route, I'm gonna check on this army bit. And at one o'clock, at three o'clock in the afternoon I had a ticket in my hand for the train that night, going to Winnipeg. Went home, wrote, mother wasn't there, left a note saying if you want to see me at eleven o'clock train, and left. Interviewer: Did they in fact see you off? My mother got down there. Wanted to know where the heck I was going! Interviewer: Did she have any words of advice that you can remember? No. She knew I was going to do it anyway, so that's the difference.

Description

Mr. Himes recalls joining up to be sent to Korea in quick fashion - so quick his mother barely had time to react at all, let alone try to stop him.

Kenneth Albert Himes

Mr Himes was born February 6, 1932, in Fort William, Ontario. He left school while in Grade 6, and worked at various jobs. After joining the Militia in an attempt to make money, he was posted to Churchill in the medical corp. While there he met men from the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) on training - he was so impressed with their skill and level of training, that he decided to join the RCR, and no other unit, as soon as he came of age. Canada was already looking for volunteers for Korea at the time Mr Himes became eligible to join, and thus was sent to Winnipeg the same day he signed on. After basic training in Petawawa, special training in Wainwright, and mountain training in Jasper, Mr Himes was notified Christmas Day 1952 that the RCR would be shipped to Korea - they arrived in Seoul in late April. Within two weeks of arriving in Korea, Mr Himes found himself in the middle of the Battle at Hill 187 - it would prove to be the worst action he participated in during his tour. After the peace accord was signed, Mr Himes remained in Korea with the RCR for an additional 8 months, patrolling the demilitarized zone. Having 3 years served under his belt, Mr Himes left the military soon after returning to Canada, but joined the RCR again when he found himself out of work. He remained with the RCR until he retired from active service in 1962.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:42
Person Interviewed:: Kenneth Albert Himes
War, Conflict or Mission:: Korean War
Location/Theatre:: Canada
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal Canadian Regiment
Rank:: Corporal

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Prejudice From ‘Real War’ Veterans

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03