Right, Left and Centre: The Politics of Some Canadians by Dave Jaffe:Chapter 40, part three.

     The Soldier Who Came Home Alive by Dave Jaffe. Part Three.


     The Korean War was another horrible conflict in the Cold War between communists countries and capitalist  ones. Yet it was in this war that Lenny Soames fought and killed. In Canada in the early 1950's he had no job, no money and he hungered for adventure. He saw a poster in a Toronto street urging young men to join the army. So he went to an army office and signed for the Canadian army.
     Once at the army base at Pettawa in central Canada, he realized he'd made a mistake. The officers in the Canadian army demanded total obedience. Soames spent his days marching, polishing his shoes, making his bed and obeying all orders from above. Yet the officers saw in Soames the making of a real fighting man. Soon he was out on the firing range, learning how handle guns and mortars. He was also taught to kill with a bayonet and his bare hands.