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UNIDENTIFIED CANADIAN SOLDIER : 1952 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DAY BOOK DIARY OF ONE CANADIAN SOLDIER'S WORK LAYING MINEFIELDS, BUILDING RAFTS AND DODGING MORTARS WITH THE FAMED VANDOOS IN KOREA

12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. On offer is a super manuscript relic of Canada's Korean War participation being a handwritten day book diary pages of a soldier with the famed French Canadian regiment the 'Van Doos'. The 2-ring 6 x 4 inch pages record terse, fact filled sometimes intimate personal notations of this soldier's duties and life in the Korean Theatre. Some pages are missing but from April 2nd 1952 through November 3rd 1952 [he notes 216 days in Korea at this point] this serviceman provides an intimate picture of a support soldier laying cables, building rafts, laying out minefields and many times under attack. June, July, August and September are the most filled months and in roughly 137 pages one reads the day to day mundane and of course the definitely not mundane entries - how he was driving a jeep with a Sergeant and a military officer and the jeep was under mortar fire and it rolled over down an embankment. Other entries include: May 17th 1952 29 years old; check Vandoos reg. 2000 mine A/P minefield. Got shelled in the valley. 18 - 75 mm came in on us in ½ hour. No casualties; received letters from patootie. Wrote letter to patootie; started booby trap MF (mine field); Sgt. Jackson went to battle school in Japan; attended class…pontoon raft demonstration at Widgeon bridge; June 25th 7th Wedding Anniversary; mention of Operations Buster and Buckingham, Noahs Ark; went over to Sgt's mess a HQ. Tied one on; constructed & operated close 50/60 raft all day; buffet lunch @ Vandoos HQs; took 5 L/Cpls up to Black Watch; almost got clobbered by a heavy mortar which landed 25' behind jeep and much more. One online source provides: BACKGROUND NOTES: The Royal 22e Régiment is an infantry regiment and the most famous francophone organization of the Canadian Forces. The regiment comprises three Regular Force battalions, two Primary Reserve battalions, and a band, making it the largest regiment in the Canadian Army. The ceremonial home of the regiment is La Citadelle in Quebec City, where the regimental museum is housed. The regiment is nicknamed the Van Doos, an anglicized mispronunciation of vingt-deux ("twenty-two" in French.) The regiment's regimental headquarters is located in Quebec City, with all three of its regular battalions stationed at various bases in the province of Quebec. The regiment serves as the "local" infantry regiment for Quebec. During the Korean War, 1951-1953, the regiment expanded to three battalions, each serving in turn as part of the Canadian brigade in the 1st Commonwealth Division. Thus the "Van Doos" represented one-third of Canada's infantry contingent throughout the war. Overall in very good condition save for one page chewed, as noted, by 'Kibbles'.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Manuscript

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