Lost to history: the Canadians who fought in Vietnam

[vtnsx]

At only 17 years old, B.C.'s Rob McSorley knew he wanted to go to war, and it didn't matter if it wasn't in a Canadian uniform.

Now, 45 years after his death in the jungles of Vietnam, his sister is finally learning how much he mattered to the American soldiers with whom he served.

June-Ann Davies says in 1968, her brother was tired of school at Templeton Secondary in East Vancouver, and decided joining the military would cure his boredom.

The war in Vietnam was still raging and Canada wasn't officially participating, but McSorley was determined to be at the heart of it.

"I think he wanted adventure, which he could get out of the U.S. military as opposed to the Canadian military," said Davies, who now lives in Kamloops, B.C.

McSorley's parents tried to reason with him: He wasn't an American, and it was actually illegal for him to fight in a war that didn't formally involve Canada.

But McSorley was going to Vietnam, with or without their support.

"When they were putting up a bit of a fight, that's when he said, 'Well, you either sign the papers, or I'm going anyways and I'll lie about my age,' " Davies recalled.

Lost to history: the Canadians who fought in Vietnam - British Columbia - CBC News

 

[Akasa]

Thanks for sharing this story about the brave Canadians who served during Vietnam.