The agony of being a Canadian Hero (extracted from: Veteran Voice)
Korea Vet News
Published by the Korean War Commemoration Council of Canada
Dedicated to the sacrifice and indomitable spirit of Veterans of the Korean War
November 19, 2007
It will be 57 years this coming April that Ken Barwise won his Military Medal for bravery in the field during the Battle of Kapyong. The Australian Veterans who fought beside the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in the Kapyong River valley in April, 1951 and stemmed a major Chinese offensive are holding a gala reunion of all Kapyong Veterans in their country to mark the event. Ken would dearly love to be with them. But he can't go.
In the past five years since he attended a meeting of Korean War Veterans in Ottawa , Ken has lost both legs. It started with amputations of toes, then both legs. He is a big man, in body and in spirit and a legend to Canadian Veterans. His daughter, Jose, is very close to him and is caring for him in their Penticton, British Columbia home. There are many things that Ken would like to do, but cold rains are pouring on him from the clouds of indifference and neglect that hover over him. A terrible final Act for one so brave, for one so well known.
At Kapyong, he and his friend, the late Lance Corporal (then) Jimmy Wanniandi, left the trenches and went down the slopes to where their comrades, Privates Maurice Carr and Bruce MacDonald had been killed by the attacking enemy while firing their Vickers medium machinegun. The enemy fire was heavy on the position and Ken was attacked several times. He fought with his weapon and with his boots and fists. Comrades say he fought hand to hand six times. Then he came back to the position but went down the slope into the enemy fire once again. His decoration for bravery was held up for a long time because Ken went down into the overrun platoon position three different times. The officers preparing the recommendation couldn't get it right. But the men who knew Ken and served with him at Kapyong knew of his bravery and do to this day. Many thought he should have been awarded an even higher decoration. As it was only two Military Medals were awarded for the entire Kapyong action. One went to Ken and the other to Corporal Smiley Douglas, who lost a hand when he grabbed up and threw away a smoking grenade to save the lives of wounded comrades. Ken always lamented that his pal, Jimmy Wanniandi, a lifeblood Native Canadian, received no recognition for going down the slopes into the enemy – not even a pat on the back.
The Canadian Government sends Ken a pittance in a check each month in recognition of his bravery. The voucher says it's from the Queen in recognition of his brave service. It's not enough to buy a bottle of liquor. He surely could use a drink.
He needs to be as brave these days as he was at Kapyong because his Canada seems to have forgotten this hero from the Korean War. His Government doesn't seem to want to help him during his time of greatest need. Ken is not a whiner. He may cry, though, if something isn't done to help him and to ease the burden on his family. A bold and active man all of his life he feels the nettles of indifference now, is hobbled by his disabilities, is getting sadder and sadder with each new evidence that his Country is stalling him and waiting for him to die. He has helped so many in his life, including many comrades both in action and in long years afterward, and he has helped many, many people he did not know personally.
In Ottawa when the Monument to Canadian Fallen was dedicated and Consecrated in 2002, Ken shook hands with Prime Minister Jean Chretien who exclaimed, “You are a big guy!” With a 56-inch chest he surely is all of that. But for all his size and strength, in his wallet he still carries a small photograph of his tiny dog, which he had adored.
His daughter, Jose van Berkel, explains Ken's present circumstances in a letter just received:
After he lost his wife (my mom) and his first leg was amputated, we decided that the house we were in was not suitable for the two of us (his bed was in the living room) too many stairs (13) to climb to get to a bedroom, so we sold the house. We had a house built in December 2004. I thought I had planned it well, building on the flats of Penticton so he could still get around the city, a bedroom on main floor, wheelchair shower bathroom, wider halls, wheelchair accessible kitchen cabinets, wheelchair friendly appliances (you get the picture).
Unfortunately the outside of the house was not built according to the contract and after a legal fight and red tape, an electric lift was put in, going from the main part of the house into the garage so he exits the house using the electronic garage door opener (there is no side door in the garage). This lift was NOT purchased by Veterans Affairs. We were doing fine in the house because dad still had one leg and was walking with prosthesis, so he was not worried about emergency access.
The problem started when he lost his second leg in February 2005. He no longer had an emergency exit, should the house have no electricity (fire, or power loss etc.). On several occasions since he came home from rehab (May 2005) the Occupational Rehab Therapist under contract by Veterans Affairs has shared our concerns, yet nothing has ever been done about it.
On June 16, 2007 dad decided it was time for him to submit a letter of request with an estimate from a contractor to Veterans Affairs to have a ramp built off his back deck. This would also require the repositioning of a couple of irrigation lines. He waited, and never heard from them. He inquired a few times and they kept saying it was in process. Finally at the end of August he approached VAC again and they verbally told him he needs a second quote (interesting considering any of the other projects or devices he needed never required a second quote). He was so frustrated because they had been sitting on this since June, never notified him and then only after he confronts them face-to-face they tell him this.
I was upset for him so I wrote a letter to Stockwell Day (our MP). Day's office was told that VAC would be arranging a second estimate, not us. I let a few weeks pass and as nothing was happening I went to VAC at the end of September to find out what the holdup was and express dad's concerns about being strung along and the sense that they are stalling and waiting for him to die. I am sure when you get to be his age that's what it feels like.
At that time VAC did acknowledge that there were poor communication happening over this but his caseworker would get the wheels in motion. She made a point of visiting dad the next day. Looking back, to him it was just another stall tactic to appease the old guy. I let a couple more weeks go by before I contacted her and she said she was looking for a second contractor. At the end of October someone in that office verbally told dad the ramp was approved but he told them he wanted it in writing and the girl told him the letter was in the mail. He was almost stung once before with this approach when the back door needed to be changed so he could get out. They notified the contractor to go ahead and then a couple of weeks later after the project was almost complete they sent a letter declining the request. Eventually we got it worked out but not without a fight. So dad was not going down that road again.
On November 13, 2007 he received a letter stating that his request for a ramp out his back door is denied for the following reason:
"Veterans Affairs Canada provides home adaptations in order to support special equipment and in order to promote self sufficiency (VPPM 2.3.10). VAC does not provide home adaptations for the purposes of emergency access routes. It is felt that your current porch lift system with battery back up allows you safe access into and out of your home."
My points to VAC are:
● They never provided any adaptations or special equipment for access in this home or our other home (he owns this $6000 device).
● He does not have safe access out of his home because the garage is part of the house and therefore, he would be trapped. The garage door is electronically operated and in the event of a power failure it is not operable.
● Most home exits are normally done to an outside door not an inside door leading to a garage and there would be no need for a second exit.
It saddens me to think they would like to see a person trapped in his home should there be a fire or other emergency. Public Safety Broadcast tells us to be prepared, have an emergency preparedness plan.
How can I do that when dad has no means to get away from the house in the event of a power failure, fire or other emergency? They have strung this vet along and given him false hope by doing a home visit to smooth out their departmental errors; their failure to communicate within their organization and with the Veteran.
I told VAC that dad would need to sell his electric device to build the ramp for emergency purposes and therefore they would need to provide the main access device to replace it. Talk about wasting time and money.
The wheelchair access cannot go from the front door as there is not enough front land area for a ramp, and also strata rules will prevent this. So the only door is the one in the garage and it can't be a ramp as the garage is not wide enough. So I guess it will need to be a $6000 lift. To build the ramp out back to strata specs and adjust the underground irrigation to accommodate this would cost $3500. This is just one of several issues that we have been struggling with.
Dad has also been waiting a year and a half for a second identical cushion for his wheelchair. They can't even get that right. Instead they sent him something totally different and he hates it. It's as hard as rock. So he is still asking and waiting for an identical cushion - talk about having to beg and get nowhere. Now the Rehab person says she doesn't think VAC will pay for a second cushion because he got one - but he never asked for that one.
A few weeks ago the doctor needed to change his insulin (he requires two insulin needles a day) because what he was on was not working any longer. Dad has received a letter from VAC saying his new insulin is not covered. This is appalling considering he has no alternative and it's his lifeline. After serving 30 years in the military for his country I thought the senior years for him would be easier.
I love living with him, taking care of him and sharing the daily adventures so he can continue to live an independent, social and enjoyable life but VAC is making me sick because of the way they are dealing with him. When he is affected mentally and emotionally so am I.
Sincerely,
Jose van Berkel
