Peacock, Robert S.: my Army recollections (November 20, 2006)
PublicABSTRACT: Colonel Robert Peacock Starts with background information on Col. Peacock. Born in Hamilton, Ont. Attended Canadian Services College, Royal Roads, 1948. Graduated from Royal Military College in 1952 and commissioned as a Lieutenant in 3`a Battalion PPCLI Had been a teenager in WWII, too young to enlist but wanted to, had been a part of army and air cadets Most soldiers enlisted to get away from home, have an adventure Col. Peacock understood Korean War as part of the Cold War because of how he had been educated at military college but the public barely knew where Korea was, let alone what the war was about Trained in WWII tactics - relied on many WWI tactics in Korea (trench warfare, etc.) - training for Canadian troops was inadequate Weather conditions in Korea made things difficult - very sudden changes. Monsoon season hot, humid and rainy, winters were the coldest Col. Peacock had ever experienced Always enough food for his unit, unlike some others at times - one hot meal per day carried up to the line by Korean porters Morale was high most of the time, soldiers "remarkably happy" Casualties in his unit were almost all wounds, few fatalities - soldiers joked about buddies being wounded and getting to recover in Japan or back home Very fast evacuation system for badly wounded or dead - little opportunity for fellow soldiers to get caught up with casualties rather than getting on with their jobs No Korean civilians within 10 miles of the line, those he met in rear areas were women, children and elderly as fighting age men in the army Canadians respected their Chinese opponents, those who underestimated them at first smartened up quickly Ratings of UN allies - varied from unit to unit depending on leadership and training Officer-enlisted ranks relationship, importance of good leadership on the part of officers and NCOs Canadian Army Special Force was better led than Regular Army because officers were handpicked, not shuffled up through the ranks - "mythology" of the Regular Army in Korea (hardly was such a thing, broken up and many sent to Europe) Return to Canada after Korean War was a non-event - soldiers went home expecting some recognition and got little, if any at all either officially or from society in general Korea was a "forgotten war" because Canada's military and political focus was on NATO and Europe and the Soviet threat there Korean War veterans hardly recognized until very recently
Interviewee: Peacock, Robert S.
Interviewer: Murseli, Kenan
Rank: Colonel.
An interview/narrative of Colonel Robert Peacock's experiences during the Korean War. Interview took place on November 20, 2006.
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 35.68536, 139.75309
- Original recording (DVF) on compact disc (CD) in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- PRS_496
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- January 23, 2013
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 22 kHz. Digitized by JF, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview migrated to 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
This page supports the Zotero and Mendeley browser extensions simply click on the extension widget in your browser to save the objects citation.
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail | Public |
|
|
|
Peacock_R_0496_01.mp3 | Public |
|