Leigh, Phillip: my Korean War recollections (March 15, 2013)
PublicABSTRACT: Mr. Leigh joined the Active Force in July 1950, about a month before the formation of the Special Force. He had originally wanted to join the RCMP, but was unable to join as a result of his eyesight. He had not anticipated service in Korea. He received paratrooper training, and became a medical assistant which resulted in his posting to the 37th Field Ambulance, the only airbourne medical regiment in the Canadian Army at the time. He was transferred to the 25th Field Dressing Station for service in Korea, and upon arrival was attached to 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He didn't receive any indoctrination concerning Korea itself before deployment, and was somewhat surprised by the state of things upon arriving. Upon arriving in Pusan, he recalled two Korean children killed by explosives a few days after arriving. On his first day with the Battalion two pioneers (engineers) were killed in an accident while planting a mine. At this stage in the war, the line was mostly static. His daily routine was quite monotonous unless there was some kind of action, in which case casualties would be brought to his dressing station. From his station, casualties would be sent to a field ambulance, and from there to a hospital in Japan if they were grievously wounded. He commented on the inadequacy of the Lee-Enfield rifle. He recalled disease being a problem. Particularly distressing for him were cases of hemorrhagic fever. He also recalled the case of a Korea civilian with a gangrenous arm who would come to his station to soak his arm in saline. Nothing else could be done for the man, who Mr. Leigh presumes later died. In his experience, alcoholism was not a major problem, though there had been cases of death when soldiers drank sterno from tins of 'canned heat.' Mr. Leigh treated one soldier who died as a result of this. Self inflicted wounds were not common, but incidents did occur. Mr. Leigh remembered treating a soldier who had shot himself in the foot, apparently while cleaning his weapon. Mr. Leigh remained in the armed force after his Korean service. He served with the 2nd Battalion PPCLI and did two tours in Germany with NATO. On arriving home in Canada after his tour in Korea, he remembered receiving very little recognition from both members of the public and the government. He has been very active with the Korean Veterans Association since retirement. In hindsight, he felt the training and leadership of Canadian troops was 'adequate.' Mr. Leigh has since been back to South Korea, and commented on the radical change in the countries fortunes since his presence there. 00:00:00 – 00:06:30 – Enlistment and training. 00:06:30 – 00:12:55 – Deployment, first impressions of Korea, moving up to the line. 00:12:55 – 00:31:12 – Casualties, life on the line. 00:31:12 – 00:42:20 – Return home, Post- Korea Career, involvement with KVA. 00:42:20 – 01:02:48 – Hindsight, Follow up questions on Korea, with NATO in West Germany.
An interview/narrative of Phillip Leigh's experiences during the Korean War. Chief Warrant Officer Leigh served with the Canadian Army. Interview took place on March 15, 2013.
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer.
Interviewer: Fish, Cameron
Interviewee: Leigh, Phillip Norman, 1931-
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 51.5, 10.5
- Original sound recording (MP3) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- LP_780
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- April 19, 2013
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2013. 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
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