Not since the Second World War has this country required that young people complete service in the military. The Canadian Forces have relied solely on volunteers since 1945. Consequently, this week, while attending a student awards night at Centennial College, I was surprised to meet a young scholarship recipient who’d previously completed military service. His name was Yonghwan Seok.
“Before I came to Canada in 2018,” he told me, “I dropped out of (school) and went straight into two-year, mandatory military service.”
Yonghwan Seok’s career path is not unlike many young people from the Republic of South Korea. Originally sponsored by his family to complete a post-secondary school program in interior design, he dropped out after only one semester. In a short biographical sketch he gave me, Yonghwan admitted that he preferred to spend his money buying and riding motorcycles – he owned four of them. Life as a teenager seemed carefree, if a little rudderless.
Yonghwan and I met on Monday night for the first time. At the student awards ceremony, he received the June Callwood Scholarship, a bursary that I’ve sponsored at Centennial College since 2003. He exhibited plenty of the youthful exuberance that likely sparked his leisure pursuits in the saddle of a motorcycle.
But he also seemed older than his 20-something years. Apparently, his two years in uniform, then several more as a blue-collar worker, forced him to aim higher, think bigger and look farther afield, to college in Canada. But first he had to learn the language.
“To brush up my skills I listened to English radio channels while driving trucks,” he said. “I think resilience came from my eager desire for long-term success.”
By coincidence, also this week, I met other young people whose lives have been shaped by a military experience. In fact, I met Sergeant Lauren Espe during preparation for the 151 Chadburn Squadron annual awards banquet last Sunday. Lauren, at 15, was rehearsing her introduction of the guest speaker – me. Even in rehearsal, however, her voice brimmed with enthusiasm and expert intonation; she loved the chance to be part of the celebration of her squadron.
The 151 Squadron resulted when General Motors joined the Rotary Club of Oshawa to develop the attributes of good citizenship and leadership among the region’s youth. Lloyd Chadburn, the squadron’s namesake had moved to Oshawa as a boy in 1919. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he offered his service to the RCAF; it took him three attempts to be accepted. Overseas, he flew as the first British Commonwealth Air Training Plan pilot graduate to lead RCAF 416 Fighter Squadron.
So proficient in escorting other Allied aircraft to and from combat areas, he was known as “The Angel.” On June 13, 1944, Wing Commander Chadburn was killed in action over Normandy. The 151 Lloyd Chadburn Squadron had been up and running since 1942.
During the banquet rehearsal, I introduced myself to Lauren.
“Glad to meet you, Sir,” she said.
I suggested the title “Sir” really belonged to my father.
“Yes, of course, Sir,” she responded, her training obviously overruling my suggestion.
During the banquet I sat with Maj. Bert Weigel, the commanding officer of 151 Squadron. When I asked what routine the cadets follow, he explained that they receive training in physical fitness, self-discipline, leadership skills, aviation professions, firearm safety and instruction in all-round sensible living habits.
When I asked about the young sergeant who introduced me, Maj. Weigel explained Lauren’s entire family was involved – her father, mother and older sister; in fact, during the awards portion of the evening that sister, 16-year-old Flight Sergeant Kirsten Espe, received a medal of excellence from the Royal Canadian Legion in Oshawa.
When I asked if other 151 Squadron personnel had graduated from cadets into active service, he said, yes, that the legacy of Lloyd Chadburn lived on. Former cadet Cory Bliss now served as a submariner in the navy; his brother Ryan is a combat engineer; Dave Brosseau currently flies F-18 fighter jets, Dave Weigel (Bert’s son) leaves shortly for a tour in the Middle East flying Griffon helicopters. The list went on and on.
Eventually, I wondered why the two Espe daughters and their parents seemed so committed to the squadron, given they were immigrants from the Philippines.
“The parents love the connection to the community,” Weigel said. “Lauren and Kirsten have taken on every challenge they face. And there’s a third younger sister, and we’ll have her involved before too long.”
Just a few years older and from a different national culture, Yonghwan Seok, my scholarship recipient, had faced his share of challenges in mandatory military training in South Korea too. But it appeared to have served him well in the long run.
“The (military) missions were excruciating,” Seok said, “but surviving them filled me with confidence, as if they were preparing me for society experiences ahead.”
In a year he’ll graduate from Centennial College’s Three-D Animation program with hopes that a film or gaming company will offer him a career.