Doug Germaine
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.
Doug joined the forces in June 1951 and went to Halifax, Nova Scotia where he was sworn in as a member of the Canadian Forces. He then joined the Royal Canadian Engineers and went to Chilliwack, BC to do his basic training in Chilliwack, followed by his corps training in Chilliwack, and then he went to Korea in April 1952 to August 1953. In Korea, he was stationed with the Patricias for three months on Hill 355.
Sonya Ferdowsi is a 17-year-old senior who enjoys meeting new people and photography. She speaks both English and French and understands Persian. School is an important focus for her this year, especially sciences, math, chemistry and physics. She enjoys visiting new places with friends and taking pictures as an avid photographer. She also enjoys snowboarding and is mostly self-taught.
Doug’s Experience
by Sonya Ferdowsi
The Canadian army made their way to Korea in 1950 for the Korean war. Many soldiers, engineers, nurses, and air forces battling for months on hand, some individuals staying for a year. Families left behind left hoping for the best, while the many soldiers fought for freedom.
After listening to a Korean war veteran, my view on the war has drastically changed. The videos we’ve seen of many soldiers on duty only show a portion of these people’s lives. These soldiers have families, friends, loved ones and personal lives that they risked by leaving for Korea.
There are so many different tasks when going to war, not just guns and battlefields. The engineers-built bridges, places and removed land mines, helping everyone else to the best of their ability. Training to be a part of the Canadian armed forces takes several months of hard work. Intense physical work and technical work, and training before being placed into the real battle. Many of these people have different experiences and thoughts on this subject.
These courageous people all lived in different parts of Canada yet were sent to the same part of the world with the same expectation, to put all of their knowledge and training together and fight with everything they have. Doug lived in the eastern side of Canada, in a small town. He had a job and worked early shifts as well, but one day he decided to join the Canadian armed forces. He trained in engineering for the military, so when he was in Korea, he would build bridges, place land mines and also remove land mines. He told me about how he had made some friends in training and how he came to Vancouver to train. He would spend days training in Chilliwack, and after a couple months of non-stop hard work, they were allowed to go out and take a train to downtown. He would go to downtown with his friends to watch movies, or just hang out away from the place he had spent months learning and training. After a long time of training, they were told they would be going to Korea to serve in the Korean War.
Doug likes to keep his personal stories of the war to himself and his family as this part of his life was very private. Many veterans like to do so as well because of certain incidents that may have occurred in the war, or because of the war as a whole being a rough time for everyone. It is a hard job and one that takes a lot of dedication and energy.
Doug did enjoy talking about his children and grandchildren. He has 5 kids and would have been impressed to see them join the military, but none of them decided to do so. He is very proud of his children and how far they have come with their lives and their happiness. Doug also has a lovely wife with whom he enjoys going on walks. The pandemic has hit very hard on everyone, but as time goes by, things seem more and more breathtaking. His neighbors are also very interesting. They all liked to have dinner with each other but they’re getting used to living in a riskier situation.
I have so much respect for veterans and their courage, especially Doug, for being so kind about telling me about his life back then and his life now. Many people don’t know much about the Korean war and getting the experience to talk to a Korean War veteran was very eye-opening. Being able to understand Doug’s mindset and life outside of the war is very interesting and moving. He is such a sweet soul and I am grateful I was able to learn from such an amazing person.