Bob Orrick
The following is from Intergenerational Integrities 2021 Anthology. Intergenerational Integrities involves 18 like-minded, passionate secondary students of British Columbia and Alberta who share a common love for writing, history and learning. Their purpose is to connect youth and seniors, especially during the Covid-19 global pandemic, where many have been physically and socially isolated. For this initiative, each student has been paired with a veteran of the Korean War.
Bob joined the Royal Canadian Navy at age 17, and enjoyed an extensive career in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). He spent a year training as a communicator before leaving in 1952 on the HMCS Destroyer Athabaska to serve in the Korean War. After returning to Canada, Orrick served in the navy for another two decades. In his post-military career, he first turned to the newspaper business before becoming a Ministerial Assistant to BC Cabinet Minister, Jim Nielsen; and later joined a pair of international marketing companies. He is also the Korea Veterans Association of Canada National Public Information Officer. Bob has written three books about the Korean War, including Indelible Memories, They Fought Valiantly, and Canada’s Three Korean Wars.
Alexa Hersch is a grade 11 French immersion student at Dr. Charles Best Secondary. In her free time, she likes to paint, read, and spend time with her dog. She also enjoys studying languages and is currently attending the Surrey German school. She was excited to be part of the Intergenerational Integrities project and to interview and learn more about Korean War veterans and their legacies.
Bob Orrick
By Alexa Hersch
“Destruction to determination, to domination”, is the way veteran Bob Orrick describes South Korea during its times at war during the early 1950s. Bob along with 26,000 Canadians served in the war where we nowadays find their stories almost untouched and in need of being preserved for future generations to hear. While Canadians might be clueless of the war in Korea, this forgotten part of our country's history has a special place in Bob Orrick’s heart.
Bob’s story begins from a very young age where he is exposed to the admirable life of his father serving in the Navy, where later he finds himself influenced to pursue the same path. At the age of only eighteen, Bob had already left his home country for Korea on the Athabaskan. In Korea, he served as a visual and radio communicator for over a year. To Bob, being in the navy always felt natural, and almost something that he almost felt that he had to do. He reminisced about how trilling and exciting it would be sometimes during his time on the ship. I remember laughing when I asked about how Bob and his companions communicated with their families back home. He told that that they wrote letters, and sometimes, some of the men would receive harsh letters from their girlfriends saying that wanted to break up. Bob, and most likely a lot Korean war veterans, have some bright and humorous highlights and stories that made their experience memorable.
Through Bob’s extensive and intriguing stories, you can tell how he carries his pride with him. When Bob had retired from his long military career, he became a reporter in Nanaimo, and then a ministerial assistant. Most recently, Bob told me in our interview that he was and ESL tutor for twelve years. I realized at this point how veterans are just are present in our communities and country as anyone else, but in addition, they have completely impacted our history and benefited us all for coming times.
Something that only Bob and not every Korean war veteran can say about themselves, is how fiercely he strives to bring attention to this forgotten part of history. Many people didn’t even know Korea existed, and they would often question veterans like Bob where they had been for so long. After retiring from the Navy after two decades of admirable work, Bob has successfully written four books on the Korean war. I was mostly astonished by how much Bob tries to bring attention to all veterans who participated in this war. I can agree with Bob on how these people should be recognized and praised, as it is one of Bob’s biggest goals to educate people like politicians and educators on the topic.
Although it has been many decades since Bob first came to Korea on the Athabaskan in 1952, he keeps in contact with some of his fellow shipmates. Some of which are distributed all around the world, in the Philippines, Sechelt, and in South Korea. Towards the end of my interview with Bob, he acknowledged my interest with travel and how him and his late wife, Shirley, had traveled all over the world. It was amazing to have something in common with a veteran who is so honourable and impressive.
In the recent years, Bob received the Civil Merit Medal for his remarkable efforts. Every Canadian should understand the importance of how people from our own country fought valiantly, and that important Korean war veterans like Bob Orrick, should be recognized by us all. As a young person who was born and raised in Canada, the good that Bob Orrick has brought into the country has become increasingly apparent to me. I am teenager still in high school and have hopes and dreams that don’t seem to include war or the navy in any way. When I was listening to Bob speak and share his stories, it really resonated with me and made me reflect on what it would be like to be in Bob’s position at such a young age. It is important to me, especially after meeting Bob, that the youth, such as I, should be the most informed and knowledgeable on the impact veterans from this forgotten war has made on us. I hope to see a closer relation between young people, and the veterans from the Korean war in the future.