The Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs has named Canadian Lieutenant Colonel James Stone (1908-2005) the official Korean War Hero in December.

The Canadian war hero who took part in World War Ⅱ volunteered to fight for South Korea when the inter-Korean war broke out in 1950, following his longtime philosophy that he had pursued all his life, to “defend liberal democracy.”

On Dec. 18, 1950, Stone arrived in Busan and led the Second Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment comprising of 44 officers and 873 soldiers.

The battalion marched to the battlefields as an advance unit and set up camp along the Miryangcheon Stream, an upper stream off the Miryanggang River in Gyeongsangnam-do Province. The Canadian troops trained to get used to their new conditions and participated in a series of battles. In particular, they achieved a milestone victory on April 23, 1951, when they won the Battle of Gapyeong (가평 전투) against formidable attacks from the Chinese troops.

“Lieutenant Colonel James Stone and his troops fought against the Chinese enemy, even engaging in hand-to-hand fighting. With their victory in the battle in Gapyeong-gun County, Gyeonggi-do Province, Stone and his soldiers are remembered as the Legends of Gapyeong to this day,” said an official from the Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs
jiae5853@korea.kr