Posted on 11/16/2001 1:22:47 PM PST by Clive
EDMONTON -- They are internationally known for holding their ground no matter what the cost.
They are the only Canadian military regiment to be given a citation by a president of the U.S.
They have fought in both world wars and Korea.
Now they are on the way to Afghanistan.
But don't call them Pats -- they're Patricias. Born out of World War I, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry has a proud history based on toughness and the ability to mobilize quickly, without much equipment.
"We've always been the first to go it seems," said Capt. Stephen Newman, a Patricia who is writing a book about the regiment's involvement in WWI.
"In the First World War we were the first Canadians into action. In the Second World War we were the first ones to arrive in England. We were the first ones into Korea and now if all goes according to Hoyle we will be the first ones into Afghanistan."
The regiment was founded in 1914 by a Montreal businessman, Capt. Andrew Hamilton Gault. Named after the daughter of the Duke of Connaught, the Princess Patricias have been involved in numerous battles, but there are two in particular that stand out.
At Frezenberg in 1915, they were asked to hold an Allied line that was crumbling.
"They went into the line with 650 men," Newman said. "Twenty-four hours later they came out with 150 and still held."
Thirty seven years later, the Patricias were at Kapyong during the Korean War, part of a team trying to stop the Chinese advance to Seoul. "The Americans and South Korean troops were bugging out, and the Commonwealth brigade stepped in," Newman said. The effort at Kapyong earned the regiment a presidential citation.
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