Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): The Korean War saw more than 26,000 Canadian volunteers cross the Pacific Ocean to the Korean peninsula to protect the people of South Korea. For those brave men who would perish in combat, roughly 5% would come from one of the bloodiest battles for Canadians during the war, the Battle of Hill 187.

Hill 187 would witness the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment’s heroic actions to hold their position while faced with a numerically superior force of Chinese assault troops determined to retake the hill. The battle would be one of the last engagements of the war.

Today, the battle is mostly forgotten — a tragedy considering the cost it took to hold Hill 187.

Within a few weeks of landing in South Korea, the 3rd Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel K.L. Campbell, would be tested by the enemy. On the evening of May 2, 1953, Lieutenant Gerard Meynell was out on patrol with his unit when they were suddenly under attack. He would be killed, along with half of his men being killed or wounded. The survivors retreated to their position just as the Chinese Advance Guard came upon the Canadians’ position.

Throughout the night and into the next day, the Chinese would throw wave after wave of men at the 3rd Battalion, all while under a constant barrage of artillery fire. As ammunition supplies ran low, Canadians were forced to fight in hand-to-hand combat in a desperate bid to hold their position. At one critical point in the chaotic melee, Lieutenant Ed Hollyer would call down artillery on his own position as over 800 Chinese assault troops threatened to overrun his position.

The late Don Sudden, a cherished friend and a hero of the Korean War, had volunteered to serve overseas and would find himself at the Battle of Hill 187 serving as a front-line gunner.

The regiment would do its duty and hold the hill, but it came at a cost of 26 Canadians dead, 27 wounded and 7 taken prisoner. For the soldiers at Hill 187, two Military Crosses, three military medals and five Mention in Dispatches were awarded.

When the battle was over, little press about it made it home to Canada, and only eight weeks later, on July 27, 1953, the armistice ending the hostilities would be signed.

Honourable senators, as veterans like Don Sudden are leaving us, it is more important than ever that we recognize and remember the sacrifices they made to ensure that we never forget the Canadian sacrifice and contributions to the preservation of peace and stability in South Korea. We will remember them.