Reeves, Ken J. W.: my Army recollections (November 3, 2006)
PublicInterviewee: Reeves, Ken J. W.
Interviewer: Murseli, Kenan
ABSTRACT: Lieutenant-Colonel Ken Reeves Starts with background information on Lt. Col. Reeves. Born in England, father was a career soldier in the British Army, served in South Africa and First World War Lt. Col. Reeves wanted to be soldier for as long as he can remember, joined as a Private in 1946 at the age of 17 (lied about his age) Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at the start of the Korean War, serving with 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Public opinion split on war in Korea, most people knew about it though Upon his return to Canada, talked to someone who had no idea there was any fighting going on in Korea when told that was where Lt. Col. Reeves had been Training in Brockville and then Petawawa, Ontario - then to Wainwright, Alberta for more pre-deployment training Troops keen to go to Korea and fight, to do what they had joined the army to do Prepared enough but not as well as could be given time constraints Lt. Col. Reeves worried that he might not be sent at all, looking forward to going February 1953- Flew to Korea aboard RCAF North Star Commanded a platoon of about 40 men - very much a platoon commander's war during his time in Korea Reconnaissance patrols formed the bulk of what they did First combat experience was a Chinese attack on their position, a week or 10 days after arriving in Korea Enemy combatants in the 3rd RCR's area of the line all Chinese Very muddy conditions "in the line," living in trenches and bunkers Rotations to rear areas for training and rest - morale boosts included showers, clean uniforms from field laundry, bottle of beer per day British patrol dog used in Lt. Col. Reeves' unit - trained to sniff out Asians specifically - dogs were excellent, as were handlers - helped to detect enemies while on patrol and avoid ambushes Came into contact with very few Korean civilians as all civilians had been cleared up to a line 5 miles behind the front Korean porters brought food and supplies to the front, carried it on their backs Korean troops attached to Lt. Col. Reeves' platoon - Canadians and Koreans got along reasonably well, good soldiers for the most part but were poorly equipped and paid virtually nothing War ended and Lt. Col. Reeves' platoon had to finish out the year-long tour of duty in Korea before returning to Canada Voyage by sea back to Canada on American troop transport ship
Rank: Lieutenant-Colonel.
An interview/narrative of Lieutenant-Colonel Ken Reeves's experiences during the Korean War. Interview took place on November 3, 2006.
- In Collection:
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 36.5, 127.75
- 40, 127
- Original recording (DVF) on compact disc (CD) in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- RKJW_497
- 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
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Reeves_K_0497_01.mp3 | Public |
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