Masks a gift to veterans of Korean War

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This article was published 08/06/2020 (2174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A shipment of hundreds of protective masks earmarked for veterans are arriving at the homes of those who fought in Korea seven decades ago.

A box containing 35 medical KF94 masks, and a letter from the consulate general of the Republic of Korea, was delivered to David Diamond’s Garden City residence on Friday.

The package of masks — which are comparable to the North American N95 standard — is a fraction of the 35,000 pieces the South Korean government has sent to veterans in Canada. Thousands more are being distributed to Korean War veterans in 21 other countries.

At 91, Diamond said he’s been getting by with a cloth mask throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were very appreciative of getting these and I’d be happy to share them with anyone who really needs them, too,” Diamond said. “At the age most (Korean War veterans) are, myself included… I think probably a lot of them had no way of getting masks, and I think it was a beautiful gesture that these masks came in when they were needed.”

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, which began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops invaded the South. The war lasted until July 27, 1953, when an armistice was signed in Panmunjom. More than 26,000 Canadians served in the conflict in Korea; 516 died.

Diamond was deployed at age 21 as a staff sergeant in the United States Army’s 630th Ordnance Ammunition Company in 1952 near the 38th parallel, which served as the boundary between north and south.

“We were very close to the 38th parallel, which was at the time I was leaving, there were some talks going on there for a truce,” Diamond recalled. “As the front-line people used up the ammunition, it was our place to stock more and get it to them when they required it.”

He was rotated out of action in 1953 and moved to Winnipeg in 1969, where he married and became a Canadian citizen. He is a member of the Korean Veterans Association Unit #17 in Winnipeg, which has 37 active members.

The masks are being distributed as part of the South Korean government’s effort to commemorate the anniversary of the war and to acknowledge those who are now at the greatest risk of the novel coronavirus.

“When you consider how many veterans there are in the United States, in Canada, Australia, Turkey and Greece — all of these nations were represented over there — and they’ve must have supplied masks to all of these people,” Diamond said. “Don’t forget, most of the veterans I know, are between 88 and 91 or 92.”

“I’d like to thank the South Korean government for very much for keeping up with us, all the things they’ve done in the past, plus what they continue to do,” said John D. Gillis, 86. “They remember us.”

Gillis was a radio operator and driver with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and served in Korea from 1951 to 1952. He received his masks early last week. Having the protective gear at hand instills a bit more confidence when going out in public for medical appointments, and getting his hair cut, Gillis said.

“They say the Korean War is the forgotten war, but they haven’t forgotten us,” he said.

South Korea has reported 11,776 cases of COVID-19 since Jan. 19 and 273 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. The country has managed to flatten its curve, though it continues to have small outbreaks of the disease, with 57 new cases announced Sunday.

On Sunday, Manitoba reported no new cases of the coronavirus, keeping the tally at 300. Meanwhile across Canada, 722 new cases were reported and the total number of COVID-19 cases was 95,057, with 7,773 deaths.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca