The Korean War VeteranInternet Journal - October 16, 2011

Remembering the day the Canadian versionof the Monument to Canadian Fallen wasDedicated in Canada's capital...And how the original monument was first dedicated in the UnitedNations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Korea 10 years ago onNovember 11, 2001...

... then rededicated and Consecrated in April, 2002

By Vince CourtenayPublisher, The Korean War Veteran Internet Journal

More than a decade ago I was working in Korea, with my wife giving me fullsupport and assisting at times with language interpretation, on the Monument toCanadian Fallen. It now stands in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan.

We spent three years in that endeavor, and thereafter, I did not reflect on it much. Iwas glad that the monument was there, and that a matching monument todaystands in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, but I did not assume any artisticproprietorship, or feel vaingloriously that it was a work of art that I had designed,supervised and worked on.

Indeed, it is a monument for, and one that belongs to the Canadians who fell inKorean War service. It is theirs and nobody should ever try to extract any part ofthat ownership. They paid most dearly for it and it is a very small, humblemonument to their memory, and what they believed in and died for.

View of the crowd attending the dedication and Consecration of theMonument to Canadian Fallen on October 23, 2003, in Confederation Park inOttawa. Though not discernible, the late Jack Stagg, deputy director ofVeterans Affairs Canada is in front row near standing Mounted Policeman. Itwas a cold, rainy, overcast day and all chairs - well over 1,000 - had to handwiped dry just before guests arrived for the ceremony - This photograph and allothers, unless differently indicated, were taken by volunteer photographer Walter Manzig.

The artist and sculptor, Yoo Young Mun had done a wonderful job and we hadworked in primordial situations in Korea, but in the end his hands and heart hadput it all together and the rough shod, extremely hard working artisans in theirhillside outdoors melting pot foundry had done excellent work under his guidance.

The Canadian version was commended by the official art conservator of theNational Capital Commission in Ottawa when he examined it – the commendationbeing for quality of the casting and the assembly and unseen welds that hold thecast parts together.

I am trying to say that I never thought of the monument, or if I saw it, I neverreflected that “Wow, I caused that to happen,” but I did cause it to happen,although I stood aside and gave credit to virtually anyone else who had a hand in it.

I was to learn, although I knew it would go that way, that some who had someconnection with the project while I was in Korea would later suggest they wereprincipal movers and that I was merely there somewhere in the background.

Of course, that is not true and if I had not worked very hard, and kept everyoneelse working toward the goal, which took some doing for one needed the vision todo that work, then indeed neither of the two monuments would have beencompleted. There was reluctance by many, but somehow the effort plodded alongsporadically and I appreciated every contribution of effort, no matter how small orhow hard its elicitation had been.

Just before Prime Minister Jean Chretien officiated in a ceremony thatunveiled the names of the Fallen that are cast on its pedestal the clouds partedand the sun came through with beams falling directly on the Monument toCanadian Fallen. All of the veterans present spontaneously rose as the redwrap was removed from the pedestal. Some of those good veterans are nolonger with us. The very large man four to the side of the TV camera platformis Ken Barwise, a well known soldier who was awarded the Military Medal for

bravery in the Korean War. Not shown here, they all simultaneously, butspontaneously saluted. Note the Heritage Canada employee in foregroundlooking up at the sun as it suddenly breaks through the clouds.

Recently, when I saw a book article on the Canadian version of the monuments,which was a content critique by a Canadian art historian, I did some thinking aboutthe genesis of the original monument and I put down some words in an article thatrefuted the art historian’s unique interpretations.

She was off track with her sense of gender equality. She had concluded that thethree figures on the monument somehow or other reflected inequities of rolesbetween men and women and that children had no place on a monument thatcommemorated the Fallen. She opined that the entire monument was another ofthose that stand in Ottawa that she feels are a white male elite representation ofOttawa’s evolving commemorative landscape.

In a way I should thank her for bringing her interpretation of the artistic aspects ofthe monument to my attention, for as I said, and genuinely mean, I was quitewilling to do the work without standing in centre stage, and indeed I needed to letothers posture that way to keep them engaged in the project. I surely do not meanthe artist, Yoo Young Mun, who is the least expectant of or receptive to praise andwho lives for art alone, and not for extolment – he lives for art and for his wife andtwo daughters.

I later stepped away completely, not even mentioning my major role when I wroteand published a Book of Thanks to participants and donors, and let the monumentsstand and speak for themselves, as intended. I did not take on the monumentsproject to portray myself as an artist, but to make our fellow comrades who fell inKorea better remembered by a visual representation of one of them, than by theaustere bronze marker plates that are placed above their graves.

I will cover the genesis of the monuments later – and assuredly, at the time theintent was to develop only one, which would stand in the United Nations MemorialCemetery and not in Canada – and how we worked on it in Korea.

The Canadian version was produced shortly after the Korean monument was firstdedicated in the cemetery and it was dedicated and Consecrated in Ottawa twoyears later.

I was astounded at how the Korean War Veterans of Canada responded to it andcame to Ottawa from all across Canada, and yet I knew that they would – fromNewfoundland on the Atlantic to Vancouver Island on the Pacific. They came bythe hundreds and their utter respect for the monument and the solemnity of the

ceremony was most moving and chokingly breathtaking – not as tribute to thedesigner or artist in any sense, but in tribute to our Canadian Fallen.

Prime Minister jean Chretien officiated and remained with the veterans throughoutthe two-hour ceremony.

CBC TV telecast the entire ceremony live, all across Canada, the entire two hoursof it. Senior executive producer Mark Bulgutch was the professional at CBC TVwho led the programming, which was a considerable undertaking from aproduction standpoint and from the segment’s live distribution across a land thathas a four hour time zone variance between its coasts.

The Canadian Heritage Ministry team that handled logistics for the ceremonyin Ottawa rented a huge outdoor video display screen to show the crowd whatthe CBC TV cameras were capturing for the live transmission across Canada.Above is a closeup of the upper part of the Monument to Canadian Fallenbefore the unveiling of the 528 names of the Fallen on the pedestal (two extra).Below, students from the Suk-po Elementary School which is located near theUnited Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan sing a song of praise to theFallen Canadians. Part of it pledges “We will never forget you, braveCanadians, we will never forget the sun in your smiles, we will never forget how

you came when you were so badly needed, we weep with great sorrow that youfell in our land…” The 25-student choir and their teachers and chaperoneswere flown over from Busan at the expense of Mr. Chung Mong-koo, thechairman of Hyundai Motor Co., as a gesture of respect to Canada’s veteransand to the Canadian public. Veterans Affairs Canada provided the lodgingand meals for the choir group in Ottawa – Photographs by the late CanadianKorean War Veteran, Bob Johnson.

It is strange how one steps out of such things, does not share in the credit, ispersonally glad that the monuments are there, but does not make a brag of them,certainly not to others and not to himself.

My wife and I have never discussed the work, or the ceremonies. We both knowwe were there and stood by each other throughout but it was not the highlight ofwhat we have done together, by any means. She could see that it was enormouslyimportant to me to get the monument in Korea completed and properly dedicatedand she gave me total freedom to do so and her very sage understanding, althoughwe never discussed it much. We both did whatever was needed and sherespectfully let me have my lead, as required, but with total support. I am notsaying that she did not assess my mood and conduct to keep me properly steered

throughout. Indeed, she was a strong and continuing inspiration and perhaps thepresence of the little girl in depicted in the Canadian's arms speaks of her.

Lieutenant General Charles Belzile (green beret) and Major General HerbertPitts jointly address the other veterans gathered in Confederation Park. Bothof them were lieutenant platoon commanders in Korea. Both are well knownand are very popular among Canada's veterans. From the left are Dr. Ray D.Pagtakhan, Minister of Veterans Affairs; Korea’s Ambassador to Canada,Chang Ki-ho and his wife; Prime Minister Jean Chretien; Lieutenant GeneralCharles Belzile and Major General Herbert Pitts. General Belzile spoke inFrench and General Pitts in English. At one point in his career GeneralBelzile commanded the Royal 22e Regiment, but served in Korea with theQueen’s Own Rifles of Canada. Before retirement he was commander of theCanadian Army. General Pitts, years after the war, was regimentalcommander of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.

Shortly after the monument was set in place in the United Nations MemorialCemetery and dedicated on November 11, 2001, my wife accompanied me to the

U.S. Military Hospital in Seoul, where I had scheduled major surgery for a verydebilitating intestinal problem that I had postponed for the better part of two years.My affiliation with the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commissionat the time provided me with medical service benefits.

She stayed with me 24 hours a day in the military hospital and I nearly neverrecovered for various reasons and the surgeon was very upset about thecomplications and visited me quite often.

Two weeks later, Mak-ye stayed with me faithfully in a very small accommodationin a Quonset hut in the (now defunct) United Nations Command compound inItaewon. I was in utter pain and could barely move. There was but one small bed inthe room and while it is embarrassing to say and my heart bleeds for her, she slepton the top of a small desk – for one month!

I could barely move and the surgeon was in the field and inaccessible. She mademe get on my feet and walk outside on a daily regimen, though that was uttertorture and I wondered how I would ever make it back up the hill to the Quonsethut. I learned much later that I was dangerously anaemic and getting progressivelyworse and so my muscles were losing power day by day.

The toilet facility was located 40 paces from our room and I had to walk therevirtually every hour, day and night and when I came back, I prayed along the waybecause the pain was so bad and I felt like falling.

I was helpless, but for her, and when I got onto the small bed I would have closedmy eyes and let long darkness come, except that she was there and she yelled at meto turn and to stay awake.

It was utterly painful to roll over and very hard to sleep. I sometimes pleaded withher for one of the narcotic pills the surgeon had prescribed and these gave mesemi-consciousness and there was drowsiness with less pain, so at times I couldsleep.

On a regular regimen she would make me sit up and take the soup or soft food thatshe had prepared on a small electric hot plate and she forced it into me. Even attimes when I vomited it up on both of us, she stayed true and firmly in charge.

It seemed a losing battle. Despite the forced nourishment my weight declinednoticeably day by day, along with my strength. Alone I would have perishedquickly. Where were caring others? They never came to help, nor did anyone ringour cell phone to offer assistance. Things happen; people assume nothing is wrongif you do not chase after them asking for help. They should have checked in on us,of course.

After the unveiling of the names on the pedestal and the ceremony wasconcluded, veterans began gathering around the monument to locate names offallen comrades. The poppies on top of the pedestal were placed there

spontaneously by veterans who had been wearing them. It is a “poppy tribute”practiced at funeral and remembrance services by members of the KoreaVeterans Association of Canada and of the Royal Canadian Legion. Obviously,with no place for this in the ceremony or program and no directive to do it,the veterans did it individually on their own, and it came from their hearts.That night, a candlelight service was held, though there was a cold rain, butthe veterans came to the monument again and one of them, blind, felt the coldwet pedestal and felt the letters that told him the names of his friends who hadfallen in the Korean War. The veterans cupped the candles in their chillyhands, shielded them from the incessant rain, and they stayed and got soaked.The night was solemn and the words respectful with not a moment of laughteror complaint and two veterans stood in the rain unseen and recited the Act ofRemembrance.

The surgeon had given instructions and said the pain was a natural thing andrecovery would be difficult. A consulting Korean surgeon had instructed my wifeto keep me mobile and fed, no matter how bad things became - and she certainlydid that and things did become much worse than they anticipated.

When a month later the surgeon returned from field exercises Mak-ye took me by taxi back tothe base hospital. I had lost more than 20 pounds and was now too weak to walk.

The surgeon saw us in the hallway, put me in a wheelchair and immediately put usin the intensive care unit. A priest who had seen us in the hallway came in.

I asked if he would watch over my wife in the event I did not recover and helooked embarrassed and said he would do what he could.

I forgot these things, too, mostly, but not really; I never forget how I was now soweak that I could not even turn over in the bed. I had to apologetically ask one ofthe two jock GI male nurses, both captains, to help me. They ragged me aboutbeing a Canadian and told me not to expect too much from them because Canadahad just trounced the U.S. team in some momentous world hockey match – I knewthe name of it then, but have now forgotten it.

The surgeon culled a special high strength antibiotic from every American militaryinstallation in Korea and as he said later, he completely exhausted the supply in theentire country. Whatever it was, it fought the massive internal infection and Irecovered.

The march past saw veterans from all regiments, corps and services in columnof threes, each unit behind its own Camp Flag or service ensign. There weremore than 100 veterans from each of the Royal Canadian Navy, The RoyalCanadian Regiment, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and theRoyal 22e Regiment. All other units were well represented, including a largecontingent of veterans from both the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and theRoyal Canadian Artillery. Sadly, several who marched that day have sincepassed away and will never be seen on this Earth again. Some were gone notlong after this march. Above, veterans of the “senior service,” the RoyalCanadian Navy. They are followed by the senior military units, the RoyalCanadian Horse Artillery and the Royal Canadian Artillery. Below, veteransof the “junior service,” who flew in Korea with the Royal Canadian Air Force,march proudly.

I recovered in time, just barely, to go to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery inApril to observe while the monument was rededicated and consecrated before alarge number of veterans and guests.

I was chagrined that Mak-ye kept a tight leash on me and watched over me withtrepidation and I thought with a tad too much control, although others later told meshe was watching my every move with compassionate concern. I had, after all, twoor three weeks before been helpless and wasting on a cot in the intensive care unitin Seoul.

The Canadian Forces chaplain for western Canada had flown over to perform theservice that April. On the train back to Seoul, we learned that four Canadiansoldiers had been killed in Afghanistan. They were the first Canadian casualties inthat theatre in what we did not acknowledge then to be a war, but over a decadehas surely become known as one.

All of that is not presented to be melodramatic or anything like that; it is theremerely to show how one can step aside from such things and not call them upconsciously yet not forget them, either, and in my case, know in his heart theextent of his indebtedness to his beloved wife.

The sickness did not end there, either and neither did Mak-ye’s dedication and care.

Vince and Mak-ye Courtenay and artist Yoo Yumg Mun sit in not quite thefront row of crowd of more than 1,000 Korean War veterans and guests inConfederation Park in Ottawa on October 23, 2003, the day on which theCanadian version of the Monument to Canadian Fallen was dedicated andConsecrated. The front row ahead of us was reserved for “dignitaries andofficials.” To Mr. Yoo's left is the official interpreter assigned to him byHeritage Canada and to her left is Hoo Jung Jones, honorary member andnow deputy webmaster of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada.

While working to get the monument placed in Ottawa – very hard work with eightor ten hours at the computer and telephone each day – I was waiting in Canada tohave corrective surgery. I had the surgery at a major hospital in the United States.

We then went to Ottawa in October for the unveiling and Consecration of theCanadian version of the monument and when we returned I was diagnosed withcancer.

I underwent the cancer surgery and after recovery I – we - underwent three moremajor corrective surgeries for the original surgical procedure that had been done inSeoul.

Mak-ye stayed with me in the hospital thoughout all of those operations, all six ofthem; she slept in a chair and she never left my side, not even when I ranted andwas offensively arrogant with morphine in my blood and in my head and picturedmyself once again a swashbuckling teenager in Korea who could turn the veryworld if he could get his hand on the right lever.

So maybe for these reasons, because of these things, the Monuments to CanadianFallen have not been much on my mind, at least not as their author. I do indeed

look at pictures or references to the monuments, but more like I would look at thesame of the National War Memorial or some other structure relevant to those whoserved, or at a photograph taken of some place in Korea, and not as though I have aparticular claim on it, no more than any other veteran and in fact less, because Iknow sincerely that it belongs to those who fell and I was privileged to work on itsexpression.

I do not like to go to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea. It gives mevery bad feelings, yet I have been there 30 or 40 times. I do not like to go near theMonument to Canadian Fallen and barely look at it for I do not want my mind todwell on it and I do not like to think of what happened to those it represents andwhat we owe to their sacrifice, or whether some of us should have been there ormight have been there instead of them.

I eschew having a photograph taken of me near the monument and most timesrefuse vehemently unless somebody has special reason and makes the requestrespectfully, like the sister or brother or son of one of the Fallen.

I do visit the graves of every soldier I served with who fell and I touch their gravemarkers and wipe them off and take away leaves or whatever else may be there andtry to tidy them. I think of them then and it is tearful and I am shaken.

I am glad both monuments bring thought and tribute to our fallen comrades whoare buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan. I am glad that theoriginal monument there puts a face upon all of our Fallen Comrades.

The children on it do not speak of gender inequalities in any sense of that clinicalterm, which seems anathema in a critique of that monument.

In Korea, reputedly a patriarchal society for thousands of years, there are women inevery possible profession and there are women fighter pilots and women specialforces soldiers and women marines and women naval officers who serve at sea andin fact behind every man of influence in Korea there is a strong, thoughtful womansupporting him and even guiding him.

If there isn't he will soon do himself in because pride and vanity come too easily tounbridled men with power of wealth or position and so they crumple.

Sons still inherit material wealth and therefore have great money advantages butthe Confucian ideal of a society ruled by men is viewed skeptically with tongue incheek these days, and to the chagrin of many hot blooded young men of ambitionin Korea they find themselves competing with very smart, determined youngwomen in every professional field.

The children do not represent “an immature Korea” by any means, as the Canadianart historian stated in her article. When the monument was developed Korea was atleast a decade ahead of western nations in electronics and teenaged high schoolgirls were wearing miniature size cell phones around their necks like jewelry andthey were texting words by the trillions and Canada and the United States were farbehind in the technology and its social adaptation and in the peoples' skills in usingit.

The Korean public health system is an ideal for the world in many respects, withvirtually all of the people assured of low-cost health insurance that covers themfrom the maternity ward through to home support and long-term care in geriatrichospitals and Korean hospitals teem with highly skilled physicians of everyspecialty - no waiting there for critical surgeries or treatments.

Every Korean community of any appreciable size has a full-size philharmonicorchestra, not a community group, but an orchestra with highly trained musicianswho have worked very hard to develop their art, whether through hard drivinguniversities - singers, the voice majors in universities in Korea, must do their workin four different languages - or whether they have spent a lifetime of tutelageunder master musicians and conductors.

Some of the most successful cars in the world are designed and developed byKoreans in design and engineering centres where only Korean is spoken, and theyare produced in Korean plants or in plants in other nations that are owned by theKorean companies and are supervised by their representatives. The cars producedare marketed and in many cases are the brand leaders in markets in more than 150different countries, including Canada and the United States.

For instance, of the 4.3 million Chevrolets sold in the entire world last year, nearlytwo million of those vehicles were produced in Korea and a majoritywere exported from Korea to the various world markets.

The children depicted on the monument represent Korean children, with no othersocial connotation. The little girl is being carried because she is two or three.

Sometimes there is more behind a monument or statue or painting than an observercan possibly imagine and whether it would mean anything to them or not if theyknew, it is still how the commemorative work came about and why it came aboutand in the case of the Monument to Canadian Fallen it defies and refutes the tooeasily made statements of anyone who sees in it symbols of gender inequality, andalso the astonishing remark that it is one more of several Canadian monumentsproduced by a male elite.

For one, it is a Korean monument, a national Korean monument, but with amatching memorial resident in Canada and embraced by the Canadian veteranswho understand its solemn meaning and its national significance.

The two Monuments to Canadian Fallen are about the Canadians who fell inKorean War service, that others might not forget them.

(I am sorry, there will have to be a Part Three to explain the genesis for theMonuments to Canadian Fallen and the design and process of producing them,as was supposed to be revealed in this article).

* I would be remiss if I did not name some of the people who worked on themonument project with me while I was in Korea and then those who worked sovery hard on the dedication program and Consecration of the monument that issited in Ottawa.

In Korea:Ambassador Arthur PerronAmbassador Denis ComeauColonel B.H. Chip Bowness, Canadian Defence Attache and chairman of thecommittee I organized to administer the monument funding programWarrant Officer Gerry TummilloKenneth Blampied, in charge of Canadian operationsHenry Martinak, in charge of funds and liaison, CanadaDanny Bordeleau (now deceased), president of National Capital Unit of KVACanada, a major fund raiserGeneral Paik Sun-yup, former chairman ROK joint chief of staff and formerAmbassador to CanadaJun-hae Kim, Mister Kim (now deceased), Canadian embassy driverChi Kap-chong, chairman, United Nations Korean War Allies AssociationCho Myong-Haing, custodian of the United Nations Memorial CemeteryKim Soon-bong, assistant custodian of the United Nations Memorial CemeteryMy dear wife, Mak-ye Courtenay

In Canada:Lieutenant General (Ret’d) Charles Belzile, patron – Charles worked very hard inOttawa, inspired veterans to assist at the ceremony and represented us in meetingswith the Ministry of Heritage.

Major General Herbert C. Pitts, patron – Herb inspired and gave guidancethroughout the process and staunchly supported plans through action, thoughlocated in Victoria, British ColumbiaColonel James Riley Stone, now deceased, parade marshal who participated bytelevision screen from his room in a long term care facility in Victoria, but gavethe ceremony his full supportColonel (Ret’d) Bill Grant, national coordinator, who worked very long days inOttawa throughout the three-month ceremony preparation periodHonourable Sheila Copps and her appointed staff members who made up theplanning committeeDavid A. Davidson, national president, the Korea Veterans Association of CanadaColonel Chip Bowness, who worked as liaison with government officials, selectedthe monument site and by long-distance from Lebanon where he was on aconfidential assignment, contributed his influence in contacting many officials inOttawa and elsewhere. He flew to Ottawa specifically to help get the ceremonyready and was indispensable as master of ceremonies.Dawn Lynn Bowness, who was the director and effective liaison for logistics andwithout whose very hard personal efforts the ceremony and the time spent inOttawa by upwards of 1,000 veterans would not have been as memorable.Our very good friends, veteran Peter Remdenok and his wife, Leona, who spentmany hours assisting in the assembly of the Monument to Canadian Fallen at alocation outside of Ottawa and coordinating a local dedication in advance of thenational dedication and Consecration; and also for driving us to numerous medicalappointments for tests and for all but one of five major surgical procedures.Our very good friends, veteran Bernard Cote and his wife, Bea, for unwaveringsupport throughout.My dear wife, Mak-ye Courtenay

In both cases, a salute and endless thanks to more than 1,000 individual KoreanWar Veterans, 130 branches of the Royal Canadian Legion, many corporations andmany private citizens in both Canada and Korea and from the Veterans of ForeignWars of the United States of America, who provided the total funding that paid forthe monuments and their siting in both Korea and Canada.

Both monuments were privately developed without the use of government fundsfrom either of our two friendly nations.

The monuments are for the Canadians who fell in Korean War service.