135 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca McIVOR, Thomas Edward KOREA Thomas Edward McIvor joined the Army with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry on January 8, 1951 at Fort Osborne, #8 Personnel Depot. He was sent to Calgary, Alberta, “Currie Barracks” where he received his uniform and everything needed to be a soldier. After receiving all this crumpled up clothing they had to learn how to wash and press and shine. Thomas was put in a platoon and they began to train in field tactics and drill at the Calgary Stampede Corral. They stayed in Currie Barracks for the winter then in May they moved out of the barracks and into tents at Sarre cee for still more training. Thomas was transferred to the 25 CRG. From early May until June 16, 1951, they did not stay many nights in tents they were staying on ground sheets in trenches. Thomas remembers June 16. He was going to go to Wainwright for Junior NCO school early that morning. He was in the tent when a sudden snowstorm came up and flattened all their tents. About ten inches of wet snow fell. He left for Wainwright anyway and started school with another twenty guys. He stayed in Wainwright until the end of July and at that time he was promoted to L/Cpl and was sent home on furlough for all of August. Thomas married his wife Bernice on August 14, 1951. After furlough he was posted to 1st Battalion PPCLI; the battalion was getting ready to go to Korea so Thomas was busy again - needles and different clothing. The Battalion went to Korea in groups. Charlie and Dog Company went first in early October 1951 then Thomas left on October 17, 1951. They left Seattle, Washington aboard the Ship Sir Hugh Freeman. It was a very rough crossing and they arrived in Yokohama, Japan eight days later. There were approximately 1500 Canadians on board and Thomas believed somewhere near 3000 US Troops. They got off the ship at Yokohama and boarded a train for Sas a Boe, Japan. They travelled through Hiroshima and Nakasaki, this was where the bomb had been dropped in 1945. Thomas recalled there were still some very bleak looking sights. All the buildings were down and young and old people with bandages covering burns and wounds. Japan was still being run by America at that time and there was a lot of begging for food. They arrived at Sas a Boe and got boats to Pusan, Korea which was an overnight ride plus a day. From Pusan they got on a train that went through Seoul and within thirty miles of their B Echelon which was twenty miles from the front line. From there they were given ammo and C Rations and did exercise for the twenty miles to the line, where they exchanged places with the men from 2 PPCLI. This was in November 1951 and Thomas was in B Coy at that time and they were to hold the line at the 38th parallel. The Koreans and Chinese were very smart and stubborn people. On Christmas 1951, the North Koreans and Chinese put cards on the barb wire fence within fifty feet of the trenches and no one heard or saw them. On New Year’s they did the same with cards and a propaganda sign saying, “Go home, Canada, this is not your war”. At night a small plane would fly over without lights and a loud hailer would tell them how nice it was back in Canada, and just to be unfriendly they would drop a few mortar shells on them. They stayed at the front until August 1952 then they were put in reserve position which was approximately two miles behind the front lines. From there every evening, one section of men would go out on patrols, such as listening and fighting patrols to let the enemy know they were still there. It was on these patrols that Thomas met Tommy Prince, he was a sniper at the time. (continued)
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