Leslie John Pye

Leslie John Pye: My name is Leslie John Pye. L E S L I E J O H N P Y E. 

 

Interviewer: What is your birthday?

 

LP: 10th of May, 1931.

 

I: And where were you born?

 

LJP: I was born in Auckland.

 

I: Auckland. And tell me about your family background, when you were growing up, when you were a child, your parents and your siblings.

 

00:00:30

 

LJP: Growing up, I saw very little of my father and so I was raised by my mother mainly.

 

I: How about your siblings?

 

 LJP: My brother, an older brother, and there was another mid-brother who passed on, and then I became the last of the siblings.

 

I: I see.

 

00:01:00

LJP: But my elder brother served in the Second World War, in the Royal New Zealand Airforce, did his 30 tours over Europe and returned home in 1945.

 

I: Do you care for water?

 

LJP: No, I’m fine.

 

I: Are you fine? So, tell me about the school you went through.

 

LJP: The school, I did primary school in Auckland. We then shifted to the North Shore of Auckland and 

 

00:01:30

 

LIP:  I completed the rest of my education through to 1948 at Northcote College.

 

I: Oh so you went to college? 

 

LIP: Yup

 

I: Is that High School?

 

LJP: High School. Yes, yes.

 

I: Tell me about this question: did you know anything about Korea before? Did you learn anything from school about Korea?

 

00:02:00

 

LJP: Mainly from broadcast news during the Second World War, and the fact that it had been invaded by Japan.

 

I: So you knew about that?

 

LJP: Yes.

 

I: Very good, actually. And – but nothing more than that?

 

LJP: No.

 

I: No. So after you graduate 1948, what did you do?

 

00:02:30

 

LJP: I went directly into the Army. In what was known as the regular force cadet unit. It was a new unit set up in the NZ Army which took ages fifteen and a half up to seventeen, and they were to become the tradespeople for the army, and this would go on 

 

00:03.00

 

LJP: Until 1991. Each year they would take about 100 in an intake. I was in the first intake. Graduated top of class.

 

I: Top of the class? You must be pretty good student? Yeah?

 

LIP: Well during college we had

 

00:03:30

 

LJP: What was called the school cadets. And it was a – we had army instructors come along and during that time they taught me to drive. I was also a gun sergeant on a 40mm Bofors gun. And we ended up winning a prize for our gun crew effort on that.

 

00:04:00

 

LJP: Most of my holidays were spent in camps, going to army camps for instructions.

 

I: So you are the elite soldier?

 

LJP: [Laughs]

 

I: And so where did you get your basic military training?

 

LJP: Basic military training was in Trentham.

 

I: Could you spell it?

 

LJP: T R E N T H A M

 

00:04:30

 

I: Trentham.

 

LJP: It’s in Wellington.

 

I: Wellington.

 

LJP: Yes.

 

I: And what kind of basic military training did you receive.

 

LJP: We had virtually a full year of military training.

 

I: One year?

 

LJP: One year, yes.

 

I: Wow.

 

LJP: And this included all aspects, mostly. The basic – although most of the class, 

 

00:05:00

LJP: Yhere were ninety in my original class. Most of them had been in the school cadets. Most of them knew left, right.

 

I: [Laughs] Very basic.

 

LJP: And so they all had that training and it was much easier on the instructors, of whom we had a fine bunch of men.

 

I: And then, when did you leave for Korea?

 

00:05:30

 

LJP: Once I’d finished my cadet training, I was posted to the armoured corps. And I went to Waiouru there over the space of nine months, I did my basic armour and instructor courses in gunnery, driving and maintenance, and signals.

 

00:06:00

 

I: So 

 

LIP: At the end-

 

I: When did you leave for Korea?

 

LJP: I did not leave for Korea at that stage but I trained the intake that came in for the initial body that went to Korea. So I was with them. That was in Papakura, I was there for their basic training, in which mainly I was  on what we call ‘The Bull Ring,

 

00:06:30

 

LJP: Foot drill. Then I went to Waiouru for their Corps training and trained artillery drivers. Following that I returned to my unit and it wasn’t until August of 1952 I was warned that I would be posted

 

00:07:00

 

LIP: To K-Force in October of that year.

 

I: So you arrive in Korea October?

 

LJP: No. In October I was posted to Waiouru and I had to retrain as an arty — artillery signaller. This was because I was coming from Regular Force to the Emergency Force.

 

00:07:30

 

LJP: And having undertaken that training, I was under the understanding that when the next reinforcement went up to Korea then I would be able to go to the British tank unit which was — oops sorry.

 

I: No problem.

 

00:08:00

 

LJP: To the British tank unit, the 1st Royal Tanks, which was in action at that time in Korea. 

 

I: Yeah

 

LIP: So I left New Zealand on the 28th of January 

 

I: Yes.

 

LIP: 1953.

 

I: Yes.

 

LJP: And arrived 

 

00:08:30

 

LIP: In Korea on the 3rd of March 1953.

 

I: Where? Busan?

 

LJP: Busan.

 

I: So tell me about Busan, the first time you saw? How was Korea look fir  you at the time? Overall? Detail?

 

LJP: We smelled Busan before we berthed?

 

I: [Laughs] What kind of smell are you talking? Fish? Bad?

 

LJP: Yes it was. It was a very crowded port. 

 

00:09:00

 

LJP: So it wasn’t a good impression.

 

I: Right, To be honest right?

 

LJP: Yes.

 

I: How was it? How did people look?

 

LJP: Well they didn’t look overly happy. There was a lot of very makeshift housing. Some entrepreneurs had got into the job of taking American beer cans and turning them into what we call.

 

00:09:30

 

LJP: Corrugated steel. You could read all the different brands of beer on the roofs of these particular houses. All very flimsy. Still a lot of war damage on those buildings.

 

00:10:00

 

I: So from Busan where did you go?

 

LJP: We went by rail, overnight into Seoul. Into an area that was called the forward marshalling area.

 

I: Forward what?

 

LJP: Forward marshalling

 

I: Marshalling, OK.

 

LJP: Area.

 

I: What is it?

 

LIP: That’s where they

 

00:10:30

 

LJP: Divided up the reinforcement draft for the units that they were to go to.

 

I: Ah.

 

LJP: So I was posted to 16th NZ Field Regiment.

 

I: Yeah? What did you do then?

 

LJP: And along with the remainder from there, we were then taken forward, we were trucked forward to a place called [Cheongsam nee]

 

00:11:00

 

I: [CheongSam Nee]

 

LJP: [Sok Cheong Sang Nee]

 

I: OK. And?

 

LJP: At that stage I became an arty signaller in the command post, battery command post for 161 battery.

 

I: Signaller. So that’s an important job?

 

LIP: It was.

 

00:11:30

 

LJP: It was a matter of recording all signal traffic that came in, and particularly with artillery, ensuring that every item was correct.

 

I: So tell me the detail, how does all that work.  I mean, you were in charge of all these different signals right, for the battery. How did work? Tell me the details so we can understand what you did and how that was managed.

 

00:12:00

 

LJP: We had shifts of 8 hours and there were three – there were a total of four signallers, so we always had one there as a backup in case one was out. That other signaller may also, had to go forward with the Forward Observing Officer at times. We would receive all sorts of traffic. 

 

00:12:30

 

LJP: The main one that we would get every day at 8 o’clock in the morning and at midnight was a matter of checking the signals throughout the division. The whole division reported through. We all had our own separate call signs so you could tick off all the units as they came in and answered.

 

I: I see.

 

00:13:00

 

LJP: That was the normal routine. We would then get meteorological reports. This is most important in artillery procedures for taking the flight of the projectile and the effects it has on the projectile.

 

I: Elaborate what it means by ‘meteorological information’.

 

LJP: The weather, weather conditions.

 

00:13:30

 

LJP: In fact if you had misty weather for instance, some of the American fuses were susceptible to going off in flight so we’d try not to fire under those conditions because it was a danger to our own troops as well as the enemy ones if they got through.

 

I: So can be friendly fire?

 

00:14:00

 

LJP: Yes. Then we would receive also from the Forward Observing Officer target information.

 

I: Yes.

 

LJP: Now that was the most important one. We would take the message, we would jot down the message, the time, at the same time calling it out. 

 

00:14:30

LJP: We then had the duty officer in the command post who would then plot that information on the map. He would then check the distance to the target, the time, judge the time of flight to the target, and also the meteorological effects on the target. Once he was sure

 

00:15:00

LJP: He had that, we would also receive in what type of fire pattern was to be laid down. For instance the main one we got would be a battery target bombard and that meant that it was the full battery firing. In that stage we had three troops of four guns, which meant we had twelve guns in action.

 

00:15:30

 

I: So I feel like, I mean, the Headquarters and I feel like I’m the signaller and I’m receiving so many information from so many different positions and then give out the orders to bomb right?

 

LJP: Yes.

 

I: Wow, that’s a very important job. So the routine is you wake up and you went to the headquarters and then you’d do all those things 

 

00:16:00

 

I: What do you do after the main work?

 

LJP: Usually it was trying to get back to have a asleep because on a lot of occasions you would overlap your time. 

 

I: Yes.

 

LIP: Simply because of the availability of people. We had a canteen, much like 

 

00:16:30

 

LIP: The small American PX or Post Exchange. We could buy the necessities and secure your two bottles of beer per day.

 

I: Mmmhmm. Yeah, go ahead.

 

LJP: There was some, there wasn’t a lot of activity. Sometimes you’d get 

 

00:17:00

 

LJP: Landed with some of the Battery Sergeant-Major’s tasks of improving the roads in the area, finding stones to mark pathways and paint them white. No, there was never much time for relaxation. ‘Course letter writing home

 

00:17:30

 

LJP: Was another pastime. Receiving mail of course.

 

I: Mail, yeah. 

 

LJP: Was another thing you looked forward to.

 

I: So you wrote a lot of letters?

 

LJP: Yes. I was married before I went.

 

I: You were married?

 

LJP: Before I went, I went to Korea. To my first wife. 

 

I: So it must have been very hard for her?

 

LJP: Yes, I guess so. But she was single.

 

00:18:00

 

LIP: We  had, she was solo, we had no children.

 

I: No children.

 

LJP:. No children. And she had family, she was with family during that time.

 

I: Did you send the money to her?

 

LJP: You had to make a deduction. Immediately that you announced, had your marriage 

 

00:18:30

 

LIP: Was approved by army, you had to make a deduction.

 

I: I see. So you did. What was the living condition there? It wasn’t far from the front line of battle? You were in the rear area?

 

LJP: We were sort of in the mid-area.

 

I: Where was it?

 

00:19:00

 

LJP: This was in the area to the east of Panmunjom. And it was on what we called the ‘Jamestown Line’. 

 

I: Jamestown

 

LJP: The Jamestown line.

 

I: So you are in the 161 Battery right. 16th Field Regiment.

 

00:19:30

 

LJP. Yes, yes.

 

I: And that was in the Jamestown Line.

 

LJP. Yup.

 

I: So that was only 1953, so around that time there was a lot of tug-of-war , right?

 

LIP: There was.

 

I: To gain more land between Chinese and UN Forces.

 

LJP: Yes.

 

I: Can you give us some idea of how intense that battle was?

 

00:20:00

 

LJP: Well there was only once that I was actually I actually got up, in the first six weeks, to a forward observation post, to look out and sort of visualise the area that we’d been firing targets, firing targets. It was a particularly busy time in May we 

 

00:20:30

 

LIP; Was it

 

I: 1953

 

LJP: 1953… it was. From the period of March through until the end of April 1953 there was a lot of activity going on. 

 

00:21:00

 

LJP: We were covering points such as Hill 355, known as ‘Little Gibraltar’.

 

I: Yes.

LIP: And our coverage in that particular time, we covered from ‘The Hook’ through to 355. 

 

00:21:30

 

LJP: 355 was the edge of our field area.

 

I: So looking, looking at all those years, looking back. What do you think? I mean you were in one of the most severe battles, Battle of Hook, Hill 355. You were in the Jamestown Line.

 

LJP: Jamestown Line went from

 

00:22:00

 

LIP: East to West. [Laughs]

 

I: So what do you think about all those things? Looking back?

 

LJP: Well we were very active. We would be firing ten to fifteen sorties each day. Some of those sorties would go on for an hour, two hours. That involved corrections of fire, 

 

00:22:30

 

LJP: Changing the types of ammunition for the particular tasks that was on.  Yeah, it was bust, very busy. And that’s where the overlapping also came in. If you’d started on a fire plan, then you didn’t change over, change over your duties until that plan was finished.

 

I: How was enemy battery? Were they good?

 

00:23:00

 

LJP: We, in my time with 161, we never received an incoming. Though we did have one of our guns that had a firing, had the  projectile exploded just outside the mouth of the barrel. And that immediately 

 

00:22:30

 

LJP: Brings in an inquiry, so those types of things, the administration, the correct military procedures have to be taken into consideration.

 

I: I see. Tell me about your service with the British Tank unit. What happened? When was it?

 

LJP: On about the 1st of May 

 

00:24:00

 

LIP: As had been arranged by the NZ Army, I was attached to the 1st Royal Tank Regiment.

 

I: First Tank.

 

LJP: First Royal.

 

I: Royal Tank.

 

LJP: Very important the ‘Royal’[laughs] Tank Regiment. Who were the current armoured regiment 

 

00:24:30

 

LJP: Supporting the division. I was posted to B Squadron and initially I was under, getting to know the Centurion tank for a start. Although we had a Centurion tank at that time in New Zealand, it was almost like a temple.

 

00:25:00

 

LJP: It was only for generals to crawl around and have a look in. Not for the likes of a corporal. So although we knew the details from military publications, I didn’t know much about the tank. So I had fourteen days

 

I: But why were you assigned to the Royal Tank unit even though you didn’t know much the tank?

 

LJP: This is because I was a tank instructor 

 

00:25:30

 

LIP: On other vehicles.

 

I: But you didn’t know about the tank? You were a tank instructor but you didn’t know much about tank?

 

LJP: Not about the Centurion. No.

 

I: What do you mean by Centurion?

 

LJP: The Centurion was a type of tank. A British type of tank.

 

I: Specifically, you didn’t know about that type of tank.

 

LJP: That type of tank, yes.

 

I: I see. But you knew about tanks in general?

 

LJP: Oh yes, tanks and tank tactics.

I: Got it.

 

00:26:00

LIP: So  after became FA with the vehicle, I was posted as a gunner and I went up onto 355, Hill 355, as the gunner of of a replacement tank for one which had been hit by an high-velocity weapon the day before 

 

00:26:30

 

LIP: And it took the Coppola.

 

I: Wow.

 

LIP: Off  the turret of that tank.

 

I: So you are actually in Hill 355?

 

LIP: I was.

 

I: Inside of the tank?

 

LIP: Not that not that particular tank.

 

I: But you were in the tank?

 

LIP: Yes, in the tank.

 

I: Wow

 

LIP: What we mainly did was support of the patrols that went out at night. So much of our firing was was night firing.  

00:27:00

 

LIP: Most of it was with the coaxially mounted machine gun. We were limited by having stakes driven ,in the, into the ground to prevent us going, the weapon from going outside the limits of the areas. The areas next to us 

 

00:27:30

 

LIP: Became the responsibility of the other tank positions. We didn’t want , some were forward of us and therefore you didn’t want to put one up their tail. 

 

I: Were there any dangerous moment to you, that you might have lost your life?

LIP: Not at the time and there was

I: When? Were there any? 

LIP: Uh, later, later on. Yes.

I: Where? When?

00:28:00

L: It be on the Hook, on the 24th, 25th of July

I: Hmm.. and what happened?

00:28:30

L: At that stage, I was posted to the supply vehicle, which was a Centurion tank without its turret but had two large opening doors on them 

 

00:28:30

 

LIP: Which were very heavy.  When they were down there was one little small door in it where as commander  I could stand and direct the driver.. We had radio, we had a live zone, but that allowed us to carry ammunition, sometimes fuel, water, up to those tank positions that could not be easily 

 

00:29:00

 

LIP: Be reached by wheeled vehicles. It was about 9 o’clock at night on the 24th of July that I received a message from the commanding officer of the squadron. That I should report to a checkpost 

 

00:29:30

 

LIP: And this checkpost was the traffic control direction to the Hook position. Reached there about 11:30. I within moved forward for about 10 minutes. 

 

00:30:00

 

LIP: When I test fired the Browning machine gun that was mounted on the top rail of the tank. [Laughs]  Unwittingly I didn’t advise the driver, the first thing he knew was he got a rain of about 10 hot shell cases down  on his shoulder . And he had plenty of words to say. However you don’t go to battle without knowing your machine guns are going to work.

00:30:30

LIP: We then picked up a guide from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment. He took, he guided us through to Hill 111 and that was an area that was occupied by the machine gun section. 

 

00:31:00

LIP: Machine Gun Platoon of RAR. Now, I knew that up there I had to pick up two wounded personnel from the Australians. We’d  had a lot of heavy rain.  So of course the Jeep ambulances just couldn’t handle conditions with the rain. S,o we got into Hill 111.

00:31:30

 

LIP: And all the time the battle was raging as we were going up. The battle was raging as we got there and it continued until we got out of there. Now instead of it being a quick load and get away, I suddenly found that we had another 6 US Marines who had been wounded. 

 

00: 32:00

 

L: They had been brought through to the Australian machine gunners. During that time we had 3 barrages of mortar where they came in and we had to take cover.  We finally got them all mounted up

 

00:32:30

 

LIP: By about between midnight and one o’clock and then pulled back, pulled back out of the area. Back to the, we went back to the Australian regimental aid post where we transferred the Australians and the Americans to their own services.

 

00:33:00

 

I: So you successfully transport them? 

 

LIP: Yup.

 

I: Were there real danger to yourself during that mission? 

 

LIP: Yeah

 

I: Were you wounded?

 

LIP: No.

 

I: Not at all? 

 

LIP: No.

 

I: You were lucky. 

 

LIP: Nope. Korea came through. Although we had two stretcher cases for the top of the tank and they were laying alongside of the tank.

 

00:33:30

LIP: Because we had to get those that could get inside in first.Then the two to go on top. But neither of the two stretcher cases received any injuries during that time. What was amazing to me was here I was under that fire of the battery that I was a signaler in before I went to the tanks so I could 

 

00:34:00

 

LIP: Safely tell them that I had intense faith in them. Yes they did a really good job that night. 

 

I: Yeah, you should be recognized with a medal for that.

 

LIP No, I was with a British unit

 

I: They never award? [Laughs]

 

LIP: No. I remember one of my New Zealanders coming down. He was a Serg named Harry Russell 

 

00:34:30

 

LIP: He just died recently. Harry said they had a big night the other night. And I said I heard there might be a medal in it, but nothing came through. 

 

I: Any other episode that you think was really critical during your service?

 

00:35:00

 

LIP: Hm… no,n o I don’t think so. Because two days later ,yeah, two days later I had to go back up with a tan.  To bring out any useable material that we could have from our positions to bring back to the new line of resistance.

 

00:35:30

LIP: It was the 28th that I arrived at 111 again in The Hook. It was a mess. There’s still thought about ages later. I used to have dreams about it. Littered with half bodies. The stench was unbelievable. 

 

00:36:00

 

LIP: Some of them had barbed wire been  pushed through their bodies. What really upset me was that there were a couple of marines there going through the pockets of the dead Chinese. I don’t know. Then again they could have been trying to gather information but I would say at that particular point there were 150 on the ground dead 

 

00:36:30

 

LIP: Amid the wire,  on the wire.

 

I: But July 27 we signed the armistice.

 

LIP: Correct. The bodies hadn’t  been recovered at that stage.  There was another attack on the night of the 26th. Sorry on the night of the 25th and by the 26th they knew that 

 

00:37:00

 

LIP: Something was coming up but no bodies were retained from the field. They just had to lay there.

 

I: So tell me about those things that you brought. So this is the area where you were? Samichon River on the north east and then The Hook was right there. 

 

LIP: Where the blue line goes around.

 

00:37:30

 

I: Yes 

 

LIP: Yes.

 

I: And  the First Commonwealth British Brigade were there.

 

LIP The One Commonwealth Division.

 

I: Yes and then what is 2 RAR?  Royal? 

 

LIP: It’s the Second Royal Australian, Second Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.  

 

I: And red symbols represent known chinese defense works May 28,

 

00:38:00

 

LIP: That’s

 

I: 1953. Yeah.

 

LIP: That’s all the tunnels, trenches, and non-intelligence 

 

I: And.

 

LIP: of Chinese the positions. 

 

I: So what did you do about it? What our forces do about it?

 

LIP: We couldn’t do much about it. Except air strikes. 

 

00:39:00

LIP: Lot’s of airstrikes took place there. 

 

I: Yes/

 

LIP: Lots of active patrolling between the two boundaries, the boundaries of the enemy and the boundaries of the Commonwealth. 

 

I: So by looking at all those maps, I mean the positions there in the map and you think it’s like daydreaming or do you still feel really real? 

 

00:39:00

I: What do you think?

 

LIP: Oh yeah, it’s back there. Each time you look at it, it’s back there.

 

I: So you are really in the middle of this important battle in The Hook right? 

 

LIP: Yes. Turn it around that way.

 

I: So where is Hill 355? 

 

LIP: Hill 355 is 

 

00:39:30

 

LIP: Is on the next margin. But, Hill, It’s difficult for me to read it upside down. I’ll just point out for you now. 

 

I: Any other important location?

 

0040:00

 

LIP: There it is.Alright, There is the  tank position there. That I 

 

I: You were there?

 

LIP: That I occupied at one stage. Yes.

 

I: Yeah.

 

LIP: Looking straight across the Samichon.

 

I: Right there?

 

LIP: Yup

 

00:40:30

 

LIP: And Hill 111 is right there.

 

I: Hill 111. 

 

LIP: Yep. 

 

I: So just in the right side of the Chinese, right? 

 

LIP: Yeah it was right on the edge of

 

I: Got it.

 

00:41:00

LIP: The line of resistance. 

 

I: Yes and what else did you bring?

 

LIP: Well this one’s, it’s later. From my later service in Vietnam. 

 

I: Oh,  that was in Vietnam. So, you were in Vietnam War too? 

 

00:41:30

 

LIP: Yeah

 

I: Ok, and?

 

LIP: There we were in Fukui province.

 

I: Yes

 

LIP: At the spot called Nui Dat. This is the tank, the first tank that I went to on 355.

 

I: Yes.

 

LIP: Tank name was Bardia. This is myself here and we were doing a kit check to make sure we were all up to scratch.

 

I: Yes.

 

00:42:00

 

LIP: This was the tank that was used on the night of the 24th, 25th of July to evacuate the wounded. And the head showing out of there was actually my radio operator and by the name of Taffy Morris and 35 years later

 

00:42:30

LIP: Sorry 25 years later, Here is at his home in Wales, 

 

I: England.

 

LIP: Wales, England, yes. Where we met during the time I was back for a reunion.   

 

I: That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful.

 

LIP: There is a 

 

00:43:00

 

LIP Full view of a Centurion tank. 

 

I: Nice.

 

LIP: These are some of the things, some pictures of our positions. A typical tank position.

 

I: Yeah

 

00:43:30

I: Yes. Did you take that picture? 

 

LIP: No these were file pictures that I got for an artist who I got to do a painting. Look up straighter. 

 

I: Yes

 

L: That one ok? 

 

I: Yes. 

 

00:44:00

 

I: Look at that. Ok.

 

LIP: That’s  where we  stop on that. 

 

I: Have you been back to Korea? 

 

LIP: Yeah I’ve been back to Korea. I went  the first time in 1995 and it was  with the veterans program 

 

00:44:30

 

LIP: Which we spent the 6 nights in Korea and of course we were escorted everywhere. 

 

I: So you were invited by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs? 

LIP: Yes, but at that stage in 1995 it was being run by the Veterans Affairs, Korean Veterans.

 

00:45:00

I: Association.

 

LIP: Yes.

 

I: So when you see the Korea again and Seoul, what was the difference? Tell me the details. 

 

LIP: Amazing. [Laughs] That the country could turn into such a myriad of high rise apartments from one end of the country to the other. And these what must have hamlets rather during the war. 

 

00:45:30

 

LIP: Everyone was right on the ball with timing. The whole place looked like it was a well run factory. 

 

I: How did you feel about it? 

 

LIP: Wonderful. Wonderful that we were able to take part in something that allowed that nation to, Korea, to reassert itself within the world.  

 

00:46:00

 

I: That’s very nice to see all those good things that came out of your service, right?

 

LIP: Yes. I returned again in 2010 as a guest of the government. A  party of 3 from the Korean Veterans Association  were invited. Including Diana came with me. 

 

00:46:30

 

LIP: We were invited to the 60th Commemoration Service and that was really, really well done. The only problem was that we didn’t get to go other than the observation post just outside of Seoul and that day 

 

00:47:00

 

LIP: Was an extremely blue atmosphere, so you couldn’t really see into the North. But we had a wonderful dinner at the reunification center. You went to Lotte. 

00:47:30

LIP: A that time I had a long conversation with the British Duke of Gloucester. We mixed with royalty. 

 

I: Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the breakup of the Korean war. Do you have any special message to the Korean people? 

 

LIP: I think that the Korean people have done 

 

00:48:00

 

LIP:: Marvelously. From what we saw in 1953-54 to what we see today. Shows an unexpected drive into industry and the one thing that I really did see there was that they were getting back into ship building. And on the blocks they had one of the new super tankers ready to be completed. They have also made their mark amongst the world. 

 

00:49:00

 

I: So, what would you say to the Korean people? 

 

LIP: Well done. 

 

I: [Laughs}

 

LIP: Very, well done. 

 

I: And you did a good job to provide the opportunity to rebuild it, right?

 

LIP: And a big thank you also for making available these return visits to Korea. 

 

00:49:30

 

LIP: I believe that they may stop after 2020. 

 

I: Yeah, it’s hard for the veterans themselves to go take a flight like 10 hours, you know, straight. So it’s getting very hard. But we want to preserve your memory and make it available for classroom activities on history of Korea. So that’s why we are going to 

 

00:50:00

 

I: Work with the teachers in New Zealand and will continue to work for the legacy of your honorable service.

 

LIP: From 1995 of receiving the Ambassador of Peace. 

 

I: Ambassador of Peace Medal. Great. Thank you. Early 1953 until the armistice was signed and  I would like to thank you again for your fight.

 

00:50:30

I: We’ll make sure that your interviews to be heard among the young New Zealand students. 

 

LIP: Thank you.

 

I: Thank you sir. So show me the picture, please. 

 

LIP: There is the picture. What is. It has a frame. The frame is in metal and you’ll notice that there are nuts showing,

 

00:51:00

 

LIP: To show from a tank. In there is an artist impression of the typical layout. The artist also has, the artist was also a New Zealand representative, in Korea. 

 

I: And that’s the

LIP: This picture was then presented

 

00:51:30

 

LIP: At a meeting with the Chief of Staff. Chief of general staff of New Zealand Major general Mehta Perai and this is the handing over of the painting. And the painting was first displayed in Army general staff and in future it was to be part of the New Zealand Army Memorial Museum.

 

I: Excellent.

00:52:00

 

LIP Now there is something. The painting was commissioned in honor

 

I: Yup.

 

LIP Of Corporal Brian Cooke who lost his life in May 1952 during a bombardment of the  5th Interscalene Junior Guard Tank Regiment.

I: Great

00:52:30

L: Again, the general. The author. 

I: Beautiful. 

L: For all my service to the New Zealand Army during 32 years. These are the medals that were awarded. Here is Korea, Korea. Korea.

00:53:00

I: Yes, that’s very honorable. Was awarded by the Koreans in Auckland? 

L: Yes

I: Yes, they did a great job.