5 Canadians killed in Korean War to be memorialized
The federal government has quietly taken up the cause of properly honouring five Canadian sailors lost at sea during the Korean War, Canwest News Service has learned.
The bid to win recognition for the five vanished men — two from Ontario, and one each from Alberta, B.C. and Nova Scotia — follows years of efforts by Korea veterans to correct the oversight and comes as the world prepares to mark Friday's 60th anniversary of the start of the war.
The issue was first raised by Vince Courtenay, a Canadian who fought in Korea and now publishes a newsletter for veterans of the 1950-53 conflict.
While Canada and other Commonwealth nations have commemorated hundreds of fallen servicemen with no known graves, a major monument at a UN cemetery in Busan, South Korea, failed to include the names of five Canadians who were lost at sea during the war.
The sailors deprived of the honour when the memorial was built after the war were Able Seaman Robin Skavberg of Calgary, Ordinary Seaman Leon Gauthier of Toronto, Able Seaman Frank Laker of Sudbury, Ont., Able Seaman Vince Liska of Victoria and Able Seaman Robert Moore of Yarmouth, N.S.
Laker and Moore died in a July 1951 plane crash while serving aboard HMCS Sioux. Skavberg was lost at sea in November 1951 while serving with HMCS Athabaskan. Liska was assigned to HMCS Cayuga when he died in November 1950 and Gauthier was with HMCS Nootka when he died in January 1951
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Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Canadians+killed+Korean+memorialized/3187915/story.html#ixzz0rdDhapkK
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
The federal government has quietly taken up the cause of properly honouring five Canadian sailors lost at sea during the Korean War, Canwest News Service has learned.
The bid to win recognition for the five vanished men — two from Ontario, and one each from Alberta, B.C. and Nova Scotia — follows years of efforts by Korea veterans to correct the oversight and comes as the world prepares to mark Friday's 60th anniversary of the start of the war.
The issue was first raised by Vince Courtenay, a Canadian who fought in Korea and now publishes a newsletter for veterans of the 1950-53 conflict.
While Canada and other Commonwealth nations have commemorated hundreds of fallen servicemen with no known graves, a major monument at a UN cemetery in Busan, South Korea, failed to include the names of five Canadians who were lost at sea during the war.
The sailors deprived of the honour when the memorial was built after the war were Able Seaman Robin Skavberg of Calgary, Ordinary Seaman Leon Gauthier of Toronto, Able Seaman Frank Laker of Sudbury, Ont., Able Seaman Vince Liska of Victoria and Able Seaman Robert Moore of Yarmouth, N.S.
Laker and Moore died in a July 1951 plane crash while serving aboard HMCS Sioux. Skavberg was lost at sea in November 1951 while serving with HMCS Athabaskan. Liska was assigned to HMCS Cayuga when he died in November 1950 and Gauthier was with HMCS Nootka when he died in January 1951
(article continues)
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Canadians+killed+Korean+memorialized/3187915/story.html#ixzz0rdDhapkK
(Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)
