Overview

April 24th, 1951,was a lonely, moon-lit night in Korea. On a godforsaken hill, a few hundred surrounded Canadian soldiers waited for the fight of their lives to begin. Soon, Chinese communist troops in their thousands, swarmed around them, plunging straight towards the Korean capital, Seoul. These Canadians were all that blocked the way. This is the story of the first battle by Canada's first soldiers in the Korean War: the 2nd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. These volunteers were straight from Central Casting: truck drivers, construction workers, kids just out of high school, and bored farm boys. Outnumbered and outgunned, this people's army of amateurs beat off some of the toughest troops on earth. This battle that's become a legend takes its name from a nearby peanut-sized village: Kapyong. It's become a mythic Canadian story, except this is mythology that is true and real.

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9781554888726

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Reviews

One wonders, had Bjarnason and his reporting skills been present back in 1951, if Kapyong's legacy today might be one of nationwide remembrance, rather than a nearly forgotten footnote.

One wonders, had Bjarnason and his reporting skills been present back in 1951, if Kapyong's legacy today might be one of nationwide remembrance, rather than a nearly forgotten footnote.--Ted Barris http: //www.canadashistory.ca (07/07/2011)

Bjarnason's book, Triumph at Kapyong, documents an extraordinary moment in Canadian and Korean history that was as unlikely as it was unknown. - Toronto Star (Canada) author and book feature, May 2011 One wonders, had Bjarnason and his reporting skills been present back in 1951, if Kapyong's legacy today might be one of nationwide remembrance, rather than a nearly forgotten footnote. - Canada's History (online) July 2011 Bjarnason mixes the official histories with a visit to the site, which makes for a rounded description. The sights, the sounds and the smells give an immediacy that official recountings exclude. -- The Winnipeg Free Press Bjarnasons book, Triumph at Kapyong, documents an extraordinary moment in Canadian and Korean history that was as unlikely as it was unknown. -- The Toronto Star One wonders, had Bjarnason and his reporting skills been present back in 1951, if Kapyongs legacy today might be one of nationwide remembrance, rather than a nearly forgotten footnote. -- Ted Barris, Canada's History -- http://www.canadashistory.ca, 20110707 a tribute to not only an oft-neglected war, but also Canadas contribution to peacekeeping and active countermeasures against Communist incursions. -- The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Strategies, 20120117

""Bjarnason's book, Triumph at Kapyong, documents an extraordinary moment in Canadian and Korean history that was as unlikely as it was unknown."" - Toronto Star (Canada) author and book feature, May 2011 ""Bjarnason mixes the official histories with a visit to the site, which makes for a rounded description. The sights, the sounds and the smells give an immediacy that official recountings exclude."" -- The Winnipeg Free Press One wonders, had Bjarnason and his reporting skills been present back in 1951, if Kapyongs legacy today might be one of nationwide remembrance, rather than a nearly forgotten footnote. -- Ted Barris, Canada's History -- http://www.canadashistory.ca, July 7, 2011 a tribute to not only an oft-neglected war, but also Canadas contribution to peacekeeping and active countermeasures against Communist incursions. -- The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Strategies, Jan 17, 2012

Author Information

Dan Bjarnason was a television news and documentary reporter for the National at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for over 35 years. His world-wide assignments, including time as a foreign correspondent, allowed him to indulge his passion for military history and to visit dozens of battlefields from the Little Bighorn to the Falklands. He lives in Toronto.

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