Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, released the following statement on Korean War Veterans Day:
“75 years ago, the fragile post-war peace on the Korean peninsula was shattered as the North set about conquering its southern neighbour. The summons of duty that had stirred earlier generations to action, at great cost, had not lost its appeal on our sons and daughters, who once again heeded its call.
“They travelled, not in defence of their home or nation, but the honour of defending the greatest treasure – our nationality of freedom. To the ends of the Earth, Canadians would go to defend it, in full knowledge of the terrible price those who crossed the Atlantic paid less than a decade prior.
“Their voyages would not be chronicled as their predecessors’ trials were. Their great victories were not emblazoned atop our newspapers, their cries did not pierce our airwaves, and their immense tragedies did not weigh on the popular conscience.
“But by pushing back the tides of tyranny that sought to subjugate South Korea, they preserved, in equal parts, a nation which flourished under freedom and the honour of the country their fathers had fought for. The same appeals which provoked them to fight led Patrick O’Connor to re-enlist after serving in the Second World War.
“While his company fought to take Hill 467, they became pinned down by a machine gun. As the enemy fire paused, O’Connor rushed to save the men it had taken, only to fall himself. The night before, he penned a poem which was preserved in death by a wounded soldier he had saved in life, reminding us of the valiance of their sacrifice:
‘There is blood on the hills of Korea / It’s the gift of the freedom they love / May their names live in glory forever / And their souls rest in Heaven above.’
“On this 72nd anniversary of the 1953 Armistice, we remember the service and sacrifice of Canadians in that terrible War.
“Lest we forget.”