Conditions in Korea bore resemblance to an older war. Timber bunkers dug deep into the hillsides with sandbag facades served as refuge for soldiers facing cold winter winds and frequent artillery barrages.  Inside, small diesel-burning stoves known for their unpredictable sputtering tried to hold back the cold. Their exhaust clung to uniforms, blankets, and lungs alike. Vermin were a constant presence in these dugouts, their size and boldness a shared anecdote among those who served.

Life in Lord Strathcona’s Horse was isolated by nature. With only one Canadian armored squadron deployed, most tankers knew only their own crew and the neighboring vehicle. A crew consisted of five men to a Sherman: commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver. The tanks themselves were the troopers’ shelters, watch posts, and weapons where days were measured by fuel consumption and track maintenance, and nights by the weight of frost on the hatch.

This was the war that Frank DeLong arrived to in late November 1952.  Barely two dozen Sherman tanks of B Squadron were embedded across the hills of the worn terrain.  Cold defined much of the experience.  Even nestled inside the steel hulls of tanks, the brutal winter chill crept in the tankers survived with layer on layer of flannelette pyjamas and battledress.  Frank’s assignment was logical considering his background as a bulldozer operator, and as early as September 1950 after the formation of the Special Force, he was immediately allocated to the Royal Canadian Armored Corps.  It was sometime before shipping off to Korea, however, with several courses to categorize in driver trade groups.

B Squadron was well into their year-long posting when Frank arrived as a replacement.  As he still had at least half a year to fulfill in Korea, he transferred to A Squadron in May 1953 when it was their turn to serve in rotation under the Canadian Brigade.

Operational tempo ran in cycles with three months at the front and one month in reserve under canvas tents.  The relative comfort offered brief reprieve with canned fruit, more reasonable beds, and dry socks. Then back again to positions like Hills 355 and 159 where the tanks used in support of static defenses dug in to provide fire support alongside the infantry. Meals were retrieved once daily from the infantry kitchens, often requiring movement under risk of shellfire. Tensions with the infantry were not uncommon, particularly when the presence of the tanks brought enemy fire onto mess kitchens and supply tents, but when a target of opportunity arose, the tank guns were invaluable.