UK Scotland (2)

>> So how many veterans are in Scotland. >> There are only two that are going to be there. >> Two? >> They had the meeting on the 29th, and I was informed that basically the following day that there'd only be two. >> How many are there ... >> How many is there in the branch? >> Yes. >> Oh, a lot more than two. >> How many? >> Probably about 20. >> Twenty. >> [INAUDIBLE] and the other Scottish unit members. >> So many other units are there? >> Up here? >> Mm-hmm. >> Actually, there's none. >> Well, it's not ... It closed down, but they keep it going as a tea and coffee social. >> So there's right now only about 20 Scottish Korean War veterans. >> No, there's more, but a lot never joined anything, never made any effort. You'll meet one hopefully tomorrow morning. He's from Govan, and he phoned me [INAUDIBLE] Canada that contact me, and some of his workmates in the army have moved to Canada, but they kept in touch, so they told them to contact me, and he did. He phoned me and explained the situation, so I explained it to me, so Govan is about 20, 25 miles from here, and the ... We'll be pressed a bit for time tomorrow. We could take you to Govan and other places and get you back to [INAUDIBLE], so ... >> I know that I organized the event July 27th to commemorate it. >> I know. Yes, I know. Korea Day. >> But I do it on Saturday before because no one can come then if it's on the weekday, but you do it on a Sunday? >> The nearest Sunday to the 27th. >> Yes, I do a nearest Saturday. >> Aye, well, the reason for that is on Sunday, well, it's a day of rest. >> Yes. >> So the roads are a lot quieter, and then people my age, we're older, and so a lot of them can't drive themselves. They're disabled, so it's family. We drive them, so the drive up to [INAUDIBLE] on Sunday. >> How many gather? >> What? >> How many gather? >> Oh, it can be 100, 150, something like that. >> Oh, wow. >> Can be that. >> But they're not all veterans, right? >> No, there's the relative and associates, things like that, but it's a nice gathering. We have a nice service. >> The one in Bathgate, the memorial in Bathgate? >> They have that in Bathgate every year, and I think ... >> So July, to commemorate July 27th. >> I've been ... >> What is it called here? >> Pardon? >> What is it called here? Is there a name for the day? >> Is there a name for ... >> The day. >> No, no. >> Because now in America, we call it the National Korean War Armistice. >> No, there's nothing like that here at all. >> So only the Korean War veterans know what it is. >> The government, newspapers, they want to know it at all. >> Okay. >> They ignore it. >> So nobody from the government. >> Oh, the government hopes we're all dying off. They hope we die soon. They're annoyed. One of my friends is in the Lords in London in the houses, the House of the Lords, Earl Slim, John Slim, and John I've never heard of him speaking. He never speaks. He just goes there, collects his money in the bank, and that's it. You've heard offer. >> You've heard of Earl Slim. Have you? >> No. >> Earl Slim of Burma, who commanded the British forces in Burma during the war. >> During the Korean War? >> No, at the 1945 one. >> Oh. >> And they made him an earl, who is a general, and they kicked him up to be an ... >> When did you serve in the Korean War? >> 1953. >> Oh, towards the end. >> Yes. >> The last 6 months. >> Oh, before the war? I mean, before the armistice? >> Yes. Oh, yeah. I'm a veteran. >> So you were there when the armistice ... >> Oh, yes. I was in the [INAUDIBLE] in the last battle of the Hook, the battle of 355. >> Kumsong? >> The last battle of the Hook. >> A lot of people have been talking about the Hook. Can you explain that? >> Yes, it was a piece of ground, shall we say, in the valley shaped like a hook. It stuck out into the valley, but it prevented the Chinese passing and the North Koreans from passing, and they wanted it very badly. They commanded that area, and they wanted it, so they always attacked it in force, and they always get beaten off with an effort. >> What was your assignment? >> I was a driver. I drove trucks. >> Wow. >> I was also signalman. >> Oh, so was Grandpa Hoy. >> And I was also a gunner. >> What? They made you do all of that? >> I didn't do all of that in Korea though, but that's what I was qualified for. I volunteered. I was in the regiment fairly early, regiment, the Royal Horse Artillery, the third regiment, the oldest third regiment [INAUDIBLE] in the British Army. It was raised in India. >> You were raised in India? >> No, the regiment was raised in India. >> Oh, the regiment. >> Yes. Oh, way back in the times of the Indian uprising and all that, and it was taken over by British government originally and incorporated into the Indian Army and then into Britain. My great grandfather was a general in the Indian Army. >> Oh, in the Indian Army? Wow, what year? >> Pardon? >> What year? When? >> Oh, in 1800s. >> Wow. >> Yeah. He was a friend of Queen Victoria. >> Wow. >> Yeah. She liked him very much, and ... >> What his name? >> General Sir William Riley. >> Wow, the Indian Army. >> Yeah. >> I know the Indians ... Because the 68th Parachute Ambulance. >> Yes. >> Right, is that right? >> Yep, yeah, yep. >> Correct, 68th. >> They were there. >> Do you remember them? >> Yes, yep. They stuck needles in me from time to time. >> The medics? >> Yes, yeah. >> So explain the armistice and the battle and just right before the armistice and after because you stayed until when? >> I was there [INAUDIBLE] in November. Well, we set sail Christmas Day in the Indian Ocean. That was December. >> December, 2000 ... I mean 1953. >> You were there for 1 year? >> [INAUDIBLE]. >> But you saw the ... That must have been so interesting. You saw the height of the war and the largest scale battle, right, right before. I don't understand. I heard that the armistice was signed, but they thought that they would negotiate a peace treaty soon after, right? >> The peace treaty never ever took place ... >> I know but ... >> ... just a cease fire, an armistice. >> But they were going to negotiate it, no? >> No, they wanted to replace it soon. >> Maybe the American government wanted to do that, but certainly the Chinese didn't want it, the North Koreans. No. There is actually ... There is so much been written about the Korean War. >> You said so much? >> Which does not get any publicity in Britain. As I've said to you, British government would rather we all die. A lot of our members got or was exposed German warfare. I don't know if you know that, but the government [INAUDIBLE], and probably that is the reason why most of our casualties are all dying off with cancer. Yes. The incidents of cancer in the Korean War veterans is higher than in the general population. >> Really? >> Yep. >> What kind of cancer? >> Every kind. >> Really? Because I know in Vietnam because of Agent Orange ... >> Oh, yes, Agent Orange. >> ... that a lot of Vietnam war veterans have cancer, but I've never heard of Korean War veterans having cancer. >> Oh, yes. >> In Australia, Canada and America and New Zealand, if I remember correctly, they all acknowledge it. The British government will not acknowledge it. There was a British woman whose husband died, and she had heard about the Australian people making compensation, so she started a case up, and she won. Took a while, but she did win compensation, but they never agreed that it was caused by the Korean War. You can imagine if everybody had cancer started claiming. What kind of money would be we be talking? It'd run into millions. >> I wonder what about the Korean War caused cancer. >> You need to ask the American government. When you go to Australia ... You'll be going to Australia, won't you? >> Yes. >> You must contact Haning Spicer. >> Okay. >> Have you got the name? Haning Spicer. He's gone all over Australia which has [INAUDIBLE], and that's because of his service for the veterans [INAUDIBLE] but ask Haning about it. He'll tell you a bit more, so the consequence, I reckon, of it, and when I was in Canada, one of the men who became an officer was talking about it with an American general there, and they were [INAUDIBLE] was cleaning his boot with it, and I wandered over to see what it was about and saw them [INAUDIBLE] screws, and they said, "Yeah, we know, but the sides are all wood, and that's why we're going to construct some metal, and we're thumping it in with a hammer," so that was introduction, and we became friends, actually, and he said to me, he says, "Arnold, [INAUDIBLE]." I said, "Yeah. I've got tons of it. How much do you want?" He says, "How much can you get me?" I said, "What do you want?" He said, "I've got [INAUDIBLE] war, and I've got no ammunition for it?" >> Do you keep in touch with him? >> Oh, yeah. I still keep in touch with him. >> Oh, wow, and still lives in Nebraska? >> Yes, Central City. >> Why is the memorial here in Bathgate? >> Well, it was built or organized and paid for and built by the Bathgate branch. It was a much bigger branch then than it is now, so no government money was ever applied to any memorial, although the defunct organization, the BKVA, when they quit, closed, they gave £1,000 to help refurbish it. >> Oh, when was it built? >> Pardon? >> When was it built? >> Oh, I don't know exactly. It was some time ago, a few years ago anyway. Yep. >> Like in the 2,000s, like in the 1990s, '80s? >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would probably say late '90s, early 2, but up on MacKenzie up here will be able to tell you all that. You'll have a difficulty in stopping him telling you actually.