Osoyoos resident Kay Schooley and her son Mark with photos of three generations of Schooley men who fought for Canada. (Dale Boyd / Osoyoos Times)

By Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

“We were slithering up Old Smokey on our bellies with the artillery landing all around us when the order came for us to charge,” reads a letter written by veteran Fred Schooley from 1951, a recollection from his service in the Korean War.

“Old Smokey,” is a Chinese-held hill Schooley describes an attack on during the “longest night” of his life when he and his fellow soldiers came under unintentional friendly fire.

“As we ran on and up we realized something was dreadfully wrong. The tracers continued to thunder into the ground all around us. One whistled past my ear another landed in the fire section and down went Larson, never knowing what hit him,” the letter states.

Fred is one of a long line of Schooley’s who served with the military, and is survived by his wife and Osoyoos resident Kay Schooley who has kept the letter to this day. Her late husband was 18 when he enlisted to fight in the Korean War and his father Herbert Schooley was 13 years and eight months old when he enlisted to fight in the First World War — according to Kay, one of the youngest to ever join the service in Canada. 

His son, Frank, was 17 when he attempted to join the Canadian Army but was unable due to his flat feet. He was able to join the American Air Force for the Second World War, Kay said.

This archived photo depicts troops of B Company, 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry crossing a log bridge in North Korea in February 1951. Osoyoos resident Kay Schooley found the photo, which depicts her husband, on the back cover of the book “Korea: Canada’s Forgotten War” by John Melady. (Contributed photo)

She continues the tradition of serving the country, having worked with the poppy campaign for 25 years.

“My late husband had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I felt anything I could do to assist any of the veterans, I would do,” Kay said.

She also worked with Veterans Affairs Canada assisting widows with pensions for about 10 years.

Kay has relied on the assistance of the funds raised through the Poppy campaign, which go towards assisting thousands of veterans and their families.

“I personally benefited from the poppy campaign, they assisted me as a veteran’s widow with my lift chair in my home,” Kay said.

With such a storied history of service to Canada, the family history has popped up in interesting places, including the back cover art for the book Korea: Canada’s Forgotten War by John Melady.

The archived photo depicts troops of B Company, 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry crossing a log bridge in North Korea in February 1951.

“Years ago I bought this book, forgot I had it, and there’s my husband,” Kay said.

To donate to the poppy campaign, or find out more ways to volunteer or assist veterans go to legion.ca.