119 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca were subject to shelling from enemy guns. We were, fortunately, never hit due mainly to the poor aim of the enemy. There were others, though, that were not as lucky as us. We took a South Korean boat alongside one day that had nine wounded Marines on board. Since they had no doctor, we were asked to provide medical aid for these wounded troops. Our Surgeon, Dr. Joseph Cyr, was on hand to remove bullets and treat the wounds, one of which was a collapsed lung. They all survived, and in fact made a very speedy recovery, which they attributed to the skills of our doctor. The reason I emphasize this particular story is because our “Doctor”, Joseph Cyr, was later discovered to be an imposter. He was, in fact, Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr., who had somehow obtained the real Dr. Cyr’s credentials, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in Halifax, NS under Cyr’s name and was assigned to the Cayuga as a Surgeon. It was a result of the publicity received for his efforts in saving the Korean marines that was his downfall. The story by a Navy public relations officer was carried by Canadian papers and was read by the real Dr. Cyr. This story and other similar escapades was detailed in a movie “The Great Imposter”, which was filmed in 1960, with the part of Demara played by Tony Curtis. I personally remember him as a very inquisitive man always asking questions which, I guess was all part of his education. He treated me for water on the knee which had developed following a fall. I had every confidence in his treatment based on what I had seen and heard of his skills. I had no idea, of course, that he was not a real surgeon. My assignment to the Cayuga was cut short after only five months due to a serious illness in the family and I returned to Winnipeg in the fall of 1951. The trip back to Canada was a memorable experience. I travelled halfway across Japan by train which took me to Tokyo. From there, I flew to Vancouver by US Military Air Transport aircraft via the Aleutian Islands; from Vancouver by Commercial aircraft to Winnipeg. When I arrived in Winnipeg, I was assigned to HMCS Chippawa where I remained until after the New Year (1952) and was then posted back to HMCS Naden in Esquimalt to await posting to another ship. This happened in the spring of 1952 when I was sent to the Destroyer HMCS Crusader which left for Korea in April. The procedures and routine on the Crusader was much the same as the Cayuga and I now considered myself a seasoned veteran of all this and was prepared for another long stint away from home. By now, I was used to the many days at sea with short periods of leave in Japan and back to sea again. During one period, we were at sea for 52 days without any leave and everyone was, to say the least, a bit testy by the time we were allowed shore leave. The highlight of one of our breaks from patrol was a visit to Hong Kong. I had the opportunity to visit the cemetery where a number of members of the Winnipeg Grenadiers were buried, some of them local boys from Fisherton and area. I was surprised to see such a well-kept cemetery in this faroff land. In addition to the patrols and carrier screening, we also provided support to the ROK Navy (Republic of Korea) which I assume only had a handful of ships. Some of these were made entirely of wood and used to patrol inland in search of mines. I drew the assignment of Radio Operator onboard one of these vessels one evening during a patrol. My job was to remain in radio control with our ship and provide support in the event of enemy shelling or the discovery of an active mine area. Besides the fact that no one onboard spoke English, the radio room was small, hot and smelly, and contained at least one family of rats and a dozen or so mice. What a night! I never complained about our ship again. We had the opportunity to work with ships from a number of other countries including Great Britain, Holland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Our ship was the first Canadian ship to work with the 7th Fleet. This involved carrier screening with one of the largest gathering of ships in Korea and was a very active and busy time for our branch. Upon completion of our tour of duty, we returned to Esquimalt in May 1953, thirteen months after having left Canada. This was a very emotional and happy time for many, especially the married members of the crew who had not seen their families for this long period. Some were seeing their year-old children for the first time. Following our arrival, I was transferred to Naden to begin my discharge routine. This being completed, I returned to Winnipeg and home, officially discharged in October 1953 after serving for five and a half years. Although I was discharged from the Regular Force, I did remain with the Reserves for a period and was involved in training Reserve personnel in Communications (Morse Code, Semaphore, Operating Procedures, etc.) Many times during my term, I questioned my sanity in joining the Navy, but I do believe that it was one of the smarter things that I ever did. I also feel that the training, the discipline and the experience I gained have influenced my life and certainly were a factor in fashioning my future, as I continued in Communications for another thirty years with the Federal Government, retiring in 1985.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==