Don McArthur recounts how his D Day parachute drop went awry, trapping him behind enemy lines with no supplies and causing him to spend ten months as a prisoner of war. During D Day Don had suspected that his given orders were flawed but the extreme camaraderie he had experienced in the Parachute Regiment prevented him from trusting his doubt and confusion.   Tasked with delivering mortars to a rendezvous point, Don and his platoon were dropped into Normandy on a dark, rainy night with no way to distinguish where to land or where to move towards. Despite the conditions he was able to locate three more of the lost Paras but no maps had been given out so following the noise of explosions was now their only option. After ten days of wandering the empty countryside with no supplies and no enemy or ally contact they were discovered by German soldiers and Don was captured.   Don found the prison camp’s staff strict and quick to anger but he couldn’t blame them for just doing their job and didn’t resist their interrogations due to how worn out he was. After having been released one month after World War 2 ended, the Parachute Regiment asked him to return to their ranks but Don instead chose to go live with his wife and infant child.        

Michael White grew up in wartime England, facing rationing and Nazi air raids. At 18, Michael signed up for National Service and trained as a driver for the Royal Artillery. In August 1951, he travelled on the Empire Fowey for his first deployment in the Far East. After reaching Japan, he was sent to Kowloon, Hong Kong, where he learnt about the brutal fighting in Korea. Soon after, he was chosen for duty in Korea. Before leaving, he trained with mortars and became a Technical Assistant Royal Artillery (TARA). Michael recalls how he used 4.2 mortars against the enemy and his experience of napalm. Soldiers experienced very rough conditions, dealing with lice and long periods without washing. During rest and recuperation in Incheon and Hiroshima, Michael experienced Asian culture and much-needed relaxation. He fondly remembers flying over Mount Fuji and notes that many soldiers took photos beside signposts showing how far away home was. Michael has since returned to Korea, witnessing its amazing transformation. For his service, the Koreans awarded him a medal and invited him to visit a memorial in Pusan, honouring those who died.

Rex shares his transformative experience of national service, going from a 'Jack the lad' fisherman in Ipswich, to Section Commander in Korea, all for a boy of 18 who had never left his home ground.

Rex describes traveling on The Windrush from Southampton to 'The Territories', 3 miles from Hiroshima to complete increasingly arduous military training run by Colonel Lonsdale designed to transform the men into “killing machines”.

From here the men were ½ a mile away from the Chinese military camps, where they could, on a clear day, see their enemy training to fight against them.

As soon as he turned 19, Rex was sent to Uijeongbu, to be quickly immersed in front line duty. He was soon to become a section commander, responsible for running patrols in the challenging landscape of paddy fields and mountains, at times coming within 150 yards of the North Korean and Chinese front line.

Rex recounts his experiences of living with Siberian winds, psychological warfare, 'Hill 335' and the brutality and carnage of fighting on 'The Hook', where death was only a whistle away. His story is one of resilience and comradeship.