![]() In 1947, at the age of 17, he spied an article in the local newspaper reporting that the Royal Canadian Navy was looking for recruits. His mother, twice a widower, was left to raise him and his three siblings on her own. He admits he was saddled with more responsibility than most young men his age. Without a father and to help make ends meet on the home front, Larkin took a job loading fuel locomotives for the Canadian National Railway in Regina he also worked on local farms during harvest time. “My father died from tuberculosis and I never really got to know him either.” “He was a good man, was good to me, and was always there for the family whenever we needed him but then he never came home from Europe,” says Larkin. He paid the ultimate price while serving the Canadian Army during the Second World War and was killed while fighting for the Allies along the Gothic Line in Southern Italy. That’s because Tom’s stepfather Herbert Michaud never returned home from the war. Whenever he thinks about his time in Korea, he also remembers the human costs of all wars. Today, the 91-year-old lives at Veterans Memorial Lodge at Broadmead Care. The V-class destroyer was one of three Canadian warships first deployed to Korea to begin the bombardment of communist positions along the coastline. M ore than 70 years have elapsed since the deployment of Royal Canadian Navy warships to Korea, but Victoria’s Tom Larkin has vivid memories of his days aboard HMCS Sioux. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |