Robert W. Mackay

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Covering the Bases

May 24, 2022 by Robert Mackay

This photo has haunted me for years. The three young men here are first cousins. They are all Mackays. Their fathers were brothers, each of whom served in World War I’s Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians). From left to right they are Thomas Colson Mackay, William Bruce Mackay, and James Birch Mackay.

As near as I can make out, the photo was probably taken in or close to 1937, perhaps at Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, where at least one of the older generation had recreational property.

The boys were all 16 or 17 years old. My guess is that the photo may have been snapped on a Friday, late in the day, after driving from Winnipeg. Quite the sharp dressers: Tom appears to sport two-toned shoes in the full-length photo, Bruce with his tie. Or, who knows, perhaps they were off to attend a local dance.

Tom, who was my half-brother, joined the RCN; Bruce (as he was known) the RCAF; and Jim the Canadian Army, so between them they covered all the bases.

It’s my intention to go deeper into the careers of each of them in future blogs and editions of Forces With History; I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canadian Army, Lord Strathcona's Horse, RCAF, RCN

Seventy Years Ago on the Korean Peninsula

February 14, 2021 by Robert Mackay

Seventy years ago this week, Canada’s Special Force entered the fray in Korea. At that time the only Canadian troops on the ground were the members of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

When 2PPCLI had landed in Korea in December 1950, the American commander of UN forces on the ground was Lieutenant-General Walton Walker. One of his staff officers met with the Patricia’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel James R. Stone and ordered him to move his troops to the front. Big Jim, as his men referred to him, refused and insisted on meeting with General Walker himself. Fortunately Stone had with him a document giving him the authority to decide when his troops were ready to be committed to battle.

LCol Stone, flanked by Majors Henderson and Grant at Miryang. Photo courtesy US Army

A compromise was reached. Stone settled for another six weeks of training, as a result of which the battalion proceeded from Pusan, the port where they had landed, to Miryang, a village fifty miles north.  Once settled into their tented camp the Canadians continued training and renewed their fitness levels by climbing up and down the surrounding hills, at times in pursuit of Communist guerrillas. Training at Miryang also featured familiarization with American small arms, including machine guns and mortars, with which the Canadians would be supplied.

In a quirk of fate, General Walker was killed in a motor vehicle accident only days after his meeting with LCol Stone, so he never saw the Canadians enter the fray.

On February 15th, 1951, Stone declared his troops ready. They clambered aboard American 6X6 trucks and headed north to join the 27th Commonwealth Brigade. There they’d take their place in the battle zone in pursuit of the (for now) withdrawing Chinese.

 

 

Filed Under: Canada in the Korean War Tagged With: 2PPCLI, Canadian Army, Korea, Korean War, PPCLI, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Special Force

Recent Posts

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January 6, 2023 By Robert Mackay

The Road to Hong Kong in 1941

November 7, 2022 By Robert Mackay

Canada’s Forgotten War: Korea, 1950-53

June 19, 2022 By Robert Mackay

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"Forces With History" is published via email every two weeks. It deals with issues of interest regarding Canadian armed forces, modern and historical.

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From saddles and spurs to periscopes and north-seekers, Robert W. Mackay is an avid military, naval and wartime writer.

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