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11 · Wednesday, August 4, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Time casts a shadow on the Korean War Continued from page 1 shift at the time and one night after my shift, I went drinking with some guys and one of the guys said, `Let's join the army in the morning and go to Korea,' and I said, `Okay,'" said Carlton. "So we went over to the university armoury and they took us right away." Carlton said he was attracted to the war for the experience and the prospect of exotic travel and because so many other people his age were going. He also pointed out that in 1951, employment was scarce and many saw the army as a viable alternative. "It was all the talk at the time," said Carlton. "We weren't thinking about the shooting." After a period of training, Carlton found himself on a ship heading for Korea where he would serve a 13-month tour of duty. Once there, he and the other new recruits were loaded into a landing craft, which began making its way to the coast. By this point, all the fantasies and illusions Carlton had about going to war and visiting unique and mysterious places evaporated as reality began to set in. "When the landing barges arrived we realized, `Uh oh, we really are in a war,'" he said. "That's when they gave us our live ammunition and you could hear it, you could hear the shelling." Carlton soon realized the Canadians were using landing craft to come ashore because the ports of the city they arrived at had been completely obliterated in the war. The city itself was no better with most buildings having been burned down or destroyed in the fighting. Carlton said his unit was met with a similar sight when it moved on to the South Korean capital of Seoul. By this point, the Chinese and North Korean forces had been driven farther north, however, they had left their mark. "Seeing Seoul, Korea today you wouldn't believe what it was like back then...there was hardly anything left," he said. "There weren't even any trees because in those days the Korean people had nothing so they would chop down all the trees for firewood." Initially Carlton was tasked with driving a Jeep for a captain. This proved dangerous one night See Boy page 12 PHOTOS BY NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER SHADOWS OF THE PAST: Don Carlton, 83, is a veteran of the Korean War. Above, he is pictured in his Oakville home wearing the tie he was given when he returned from overseas before he was discharged. At left, aging newspaper clippings documenting the war. Hot Summer Savings g on Selected Units! "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 905-337-2066 w w w. c o b b l e s t o n e m b e r s . c a