Retired Sgt. John Cotton of the British Army 8th Kings Irish Hussars is living proof that a war he fought some 60 years ago never leaves the memory of anyone who survives combat.
“Any person who has been in combat carries it with them for life…I think about it every day,” said Cotton, who survived two volunteer tours of duty in the brutal Korean War of 1950-1953.
A troop sergeant commanding a tank by the age of 20, Cotton fought in a war that he calls “as vicious as any war ever fought”, with reference to close encounters with enemy troops.
The veteran will be one of the guest speakers at the Remembrance Day ceremonies held at Cochrane High School Nov. 11, beginning at 10 a.m. and ending up at the Cenotaph before 11 a.m. for the laying of the wreaths. He will be candidly sharing with listeners his story of survival of The Battle of the Imjin River (1951); this battle saw the British forces outnumbered by Chinese forces an estimated seven to one.
Honourably discharged in 1952 due to injury, Cotton packed his dreams of a career as a professional soldier into a box of his past, forging a new life for himself in Canada, where he immigrated to in 1953.
Cotton married, raised five children and worked in the insurance business, residing in Cochrane since 1978.
It was only around five years ago that he began to open up about his experiences as a war veteran, speaking to students at Cochrane schools.
“We were ordinary fellows who were trained professional soldiers. I don’t think civilians can understand what combat is about…only those who have lived it can.”
For this war veteran, Nov. 11 carries a deep significance – one that he hopes won’t someday be forgotten about in dusty history textbooks.
“It’s about the lads who didn’t come home…I remember some of them.”
