2PPCLI honours 71st anniversary of Kapyong

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This article was published 05/05/2022 (1458 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CFB SHILO — Members of 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry paused their pre-deployment training on April 25 to honour the battle that cemented the regiment’s place in Canadian history.

April 25 was the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Kapyong. The battle took place in 1951 and marked Canada’s most significant action during the Korean War.

Kapyong remains an important occasion to commemorate as it was the foundational experience of the battalion, said Lt.-Col. Jesse van Eijk, commanding officer of 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI). Pausing to remember the sacrifices of soldiers in Korea offered time to reflect on 2PPCLI’s history as units prepare for deployment to Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE in June.

“It’s a good opportunity to get the soldiers training and reintroduce to them to why we are doing this. This is a big part of our heritage.”

The Battle of Kapyong took place over four days and the 2PPCLI’s heroic efforts were recognized with the United States Presidential Unit Citation. The Patricias held the line in Kapyong, at the cost of 10 Canadian lives and 23 wounded soldiers. In total, 516 Canadians died in service during the Korean War.

The commemoration took on new meaning during the military parade as troops were in combat gear for pre-deployment training. 2PPCLI is preparing to send A Company and other elements of the battalion to Latvia as part of Operation REASSURANCE.

A military parade served as a great way to tie together the pre-deployment training with the roots of the battalion, he said.

“The weather has been pretty grim the last couple of weeks and they’ve been out here just getting after it,” van Eijk said. “Trucks are muddy. Guys are cold and wet and still out there every day soldiering hard.”

The anniversary offered a chance to reflect on the experience of past Patricias and the sacrifices soldiers have made over the decades in service of their country.

“The army, it draws a lot from our traditions and the support we get back after them,” van Eijk said. “All of these soldiers need to understand, and I think they do, was the heritage of the battalion. This was not just a group of individuals [that] was thrown together last week or last month; we’re carrying on something that started in 1914 with the regiment.”

It can be easy in Canada to forget the sacrifices of soldiers, he said, because Canadians live in a safe nation. But it remains critical to remember the safety Canadians experience every day comes from military efforts to preserve it.

2PPCLI Chaplain Sean Smallwood spoke at the ceremony, honouring those who died in the Battle of Kapyong and remembering the contributions of those who were on the ground fighting.

“We can hardly go on without remembering our war dead and those who were wounded and those who lived and were unscathed but nevertheless sacrificed,” Smallwood said. “They inspire us for the jobs we have to do going forward.”

The military parade was a critical act of remembrance because the dead are a part of the being and soul of the unit, he said. To go forward without hailing their sacrifices would be akin to cutting off a part of the 2PPCLI identity.

The presidential citation awarded to the battalion showed how they saved the city of Seoul, South Korea, and very likely saved the Korean War for the allied UN countries.

“It could be a very different world today if it had not been for them standing up at Hill 677,” Smallwood said.

The Battle of Kapyong is an incredibly inspiring story, he said. 2PPCLI has many young men and women on base who are looking to belong to something bigger than themselves. Stories like the Battle of Kapyong add to the mythology and lore of the battalion because it is rooted in history and tradition.

2PPCLI troops carry this legacy forward each day, Smallwood said, as a type of “stubborn selflessness willing to do the duty no matter what it might cost us.”

“This is a time where we stop and say, ‘Hey, others have gone before us and done great things, we may be expected to make the same sacrifices. Let’s take the breadth and depth of that and cherish it and carry it forward in whatever we may be called upon to do.’”

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