Tomorrow, the City of Toronto will host a commemorative ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement and to honour veterans and the 38 young men and women from Toronto who lost their lives while serving in Korea from 1950 to 1953.
Date: Thursday, July 27
Time: 8 to 8:30 a.m.
Location: Cenotaph at Old City Hall, 60 Queen St. W.
Members of the public are welcome to attend, although space is limited due to construction in the area.
The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, bringing an end to the three-year-long conflict between North Korea and South Korea, known as the Korean War, which also saw the participation of the Canadian Army Special Forces, alongside the United States and 32 other countries that were part of the UN Command. More information on the commemoration is available on the City’s Tributes webpage.
The ceremony will include the Rituals of Remembrance including the Last Post, a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers, Lament and the Rouse followed by the Act of Remembrance. Mayor Olivia Chow will offer remarks followed by Consul General Deuk Hwan Kim of the Republic of Korea.
Mayor Olivia Chow will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph and will be followed by Julie Dabrusin, Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth on behalf of the Government of Canada, Lieutenant Commander Adams Gravitis and Chief Petty Officer Maggie Birtch, Royal Canadian Navy, Lieutenant Colonel J.J. Stocker and Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Reese, The Canadian Army, District ‘D’ Deputy Commander Craig Oliver, Royal Canadian Legion, Consul General Deuk Hwan Kim, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea, Consular representatives from other countries which were a part of the UN Command, and Hazel Regan, sister of fallen soldier Private William Patrick Regan.
Profile of William (Billy) Patrick Regan
Private, 3rd Battalion Group, Royal Canadian Regiment during the Korean War
Died July 15, 1953, buried at the United Nations Cemetery in Busan, South Korea.
Billy came from a large family of seven children. As the only son, his father – himself having only been back four years from his service in the Second World War – was not in support when Billy enlisted in the Royal Canadian Regiment in 1950 when he was only 16. He went on to train at Camp Borden and CFB Petawawa before being deployed as part of the United Nations multinational force to defend South Korea from invasion. Like many of his comrades, Billy wasn’t even old enough to vote or drink legally.
From 1951 to 1953, little territory was exchanged and the two sides – the UN and the Chinese forces of the People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) and the North Korean (Korean People’s Army (KPA) – exchanged artillery but little territory. At the Battle of Hill 187, the 3rd Battalion Group of the Royal Canadian regiment would be forced to hold the hill while faced with a huge Chinese assault that came in three waves of attacks. The regiment would hold the hill but it came at a cost of 26 Canadians lives, 27 wounded and seven taken prisoner. Billy was one of those casualties – he was wounded by enemy mortar fire and evacuated by helicopter to a MASH unit where he died of his wounds on July 15, 1953. He was 19 years old and was killed just ten days shy of the signing of the Armistice. He is among the last Canadians to be killed in the Korean War.
Buried in the United Nations Cemetery in Busan, South Korea, a symbolic brick in honour of Billy appears in the Korean Veteran Association of Canada’s Wall of Remembrance located in Meadowvale Ceremony in Brampton.
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