ABSTRACT: Captain Kenneth Scotten Captain Scotten interview.mp3 (0:00) High school education before joining military. University education after joined navy. Initially wanted to fly. Had not seen salt water until he joined the Navy, and decided that was the way to go. (2:30) Brief description of diplomatic mission to USSR. Preserver was one of the first ships there since 1936. Boat people were somewhat common in the 80's though a rescue operation was not expected. (4:20) Crew offered own clothes and toys to the Boat people. The government was very supportive of the operation by way of diplomatic assistance. Scotten communicated with Ambassador in Manila all the time. Tripartite group formed in Ottawa created to deal with problem. (7:40) Ship had Doctor and Dentist, though the Doctor was away during the arrival of the boat people. In the meantime Senior Medical Assistant and his assistant dealt with the sick refugees. The doctor returned with more supplies later on. (13:19) Pros and cons of the Preserver for this operation; facilities were overwhelmed yet other merchant ships couldn't have done this. Preserver had space, medical expertise, and numbers of people capable of providing care. (17:24) Explains how ship was divided up. (20:34) Explains burial at sea, which was the best option for dealing with refugee casualties. (24:45) Crew morale was huge. The crew gave toys, sang songs etc. 3 teams were formed to keep watch over refugees. Preserver was the only ship with women onboard. (28:27) Concerned with not being able to land refugees at next port, which is normally the case with rescue missions, because refugees are a chronic problem in the Philippines. Description of different communication systems. (35:59) Tropical storms Nathan and Ophelia cause problems. Ophelia causes him to go 8 hours off course and anchor for one night outside of the port in Manila. (38:30) Refugee morale is a mix of being grateful for life and apprehension. The Filipino government decides it, for the time being, will only accept the severely sick and their family members. (43:55) Description of the difficult docking process. The eventual Canada-Philippine compromise is that the Philippines will accept the Vietnamese boat people as long as Canada takes responsibly for the legitimate refugees and the repatriation of the others. Tearful departure with refugees. (50:57) Successful mission because of the lives saved. It's a good news story about the military that people like to see. Involved risky decisions. (56:07) Brief description of contact with people after 1990. There was a 1, 5, and 10 year reunion. Refugees consider the Preserver their 'mother' because she gave them a second life. (59:50) Received Meritorious Service Cross and was honoured, though he felt he received it on behalf of the entire crew. Mention of his son being on ship. (1:01:24) Concluding comments. (1:04:42)

An interview/narrative of Captain Kenneth Scotten's experiences whilst serving with the Royal Canadian Navy. Interview took place on November 15, 2006.

Interviewee: Scotten, Kenneth R.

Rank: Captain.

Interviewer: Perry, Marie

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Scotten, Kenneth R.
• Perry, Marie

Subject

• Personal narratives--Canadian
• Canada. Royal Canadian Navy
• Military history

Language

• eng

Date created

• November 15, 2006

Relation

• Title of paper: "Provide Preserve Protect: Naval Crisis Management and the Canadian Identity".
• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 1 sound recording (MP3)

Geographic Coverage

• Ontario--Ottawa

Coordinates

• 45.41117, -75.69812

Additional physical characteristics

• Original recording (MP3) on compact disc (CD) in Special Collections.

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• oral histories (literary genre)
• sound recordings
• interviews
• reminiscences

Archival item identifier

• SKR_500

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• November 15, 2006

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 112 kbps and 44 kHz. Digitized by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2006. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/c6py-3079

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