Ken Himes knows as well as anyone that he could have been killed on the battlefield.

He had the unpleasant duty of removing the body of his virtual double from a mountain valley in Korea over 45 years ago.

It happened in the aftermath of the Attack on Hill 187, the Canadian contingentB次元官网网址檚 biggest battle of the Korean War. On the night of May 2 and 3, 1953. Twenty-six members of the Royal Canadian Regiment were killed in battle, including Lance-Cpl. Doug Newell, a native of Newfoundland.

B次元官网网址淲e did our basic training together and we got promoted at the same time to lance corporal; he made it a couple of weeks ahead of me,B次元官网网址� said Himes, a native of Port William, Ont.

The men not only shared a friendship, they shared physical attributes, including almost identical height and build.

B次元官网网址淧eople couldnB次元官网网址檛 figure out who was who,B次元官网网址� said Himes.

Two days after the battle, Himes was put in charge of removing the bodies of his fallen comrades. He recognized Newell immediately, even though his lifeless body was face down.

While the pain of the memory was clear on his face as he recalled the events, at the time he and the other soldiers on that dangerous mission couldnB次元官网网址檛 afford the luxury of any emotional lapses. Their own lives depended on them doing their job quickly.

B次元官网网址淵ou just do it. YouB次元官网网址檝e got to understand, everything is right now,B次元官网网址� said Himes, who retired to Metchosin with his family four years ago.

B次元官网网址淚f you hesitate, ItB次元官网网址檚 your turn lying down,B次元官网网址� said Fred MacDonald another Korean War veteran, who lost his brother Bruce in the war. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like the guy who jumped off the 100-storey building: as he was going past the 50th floor, he said, B次元官网网址楽o far, so good,B次元官网网址� Himes said.

Nothing could be said about the Chinese armyB次元官网网址檚 attack on Hill 187, according to the booklet, Remembering the Forgotten War. B次元官网网址淭he capture of the vital ground such as Hill 355 or the B次元官网网址楬ookB次元官网网址� makes tactical sense. But the raid on the 3rd RCR positions makes no sense at all. They could not have been held, the prisoners were not needed, and such isolated operation could have had no effect on the peace talks at Panmunjom,B次元官网网址� the booklet stated.

Less than three months before the cease-fire which would end the war, B次元官网网址淜orea had become a jousting place, where armies battled, not to win, but to maintain efficiency.B次元官网网址� They strove to keep sharp while peace negotiations continued. It was in this environment that Himes led a patrol to pick up casualties. However, B次元官网网址渙n the way out, we found that we did not need the stretchers B次元官网网址� we had a fight.B次元官网网址�

Along the way, the patrol ran into a soldier, who had a similar sounding name, Hines, and who said he was the last man left on the regimentB次元官网网址檚 ill-fated Charlie company. B次元官网网址淚 said, B次元官网网址楢re you sure?B次元官网网址� and he said, B次元官网网址榃ell, I couldnB次元官网网址檛 find anyone else.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�

On a map of the battle, Himes pointed to a valley and said, B次元官网网址淲e go down into here and knew was something real was going on B次元官网网址� And this here part, was just cherry red from the explosions.B次元官网网址�

Less than three months later the skies above the Korean battlefields were again bright with explosives B次元官网网址� this time from flares fired into the air by both sides in the conflict to mark a cease-fire.

B次元官网网址淚t looked like Christmas lights everywhere,B次元官网网址� said veteran Gordie Hie.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e on the front lines, you try not to show any light at all. All of a sudden there were flares shot everywhere.B次元官网网址�

This story originally appeared in the Nov. 11, 1998 edition of the Goldstream Gazette.