Rideau Hall is a fast moving documented novel that covers the dashing Special Force soldiers of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry as they fight in the Korean War. Written in the form of a novel, the illustrated work describes adventures of real people with real names, in real battles and places. The author served in the Korean War with the same Regiment. He knows the horror, the anguish, the brutality of conditions, the constant fear and tension, and an element that even seasoned instructors do not teach their trainees: The utter physical fatigue from brutal hard work and sleep deprivation at the front. This author takes the reader to the time when the Special Force unit was first formed from swashbuckling adventurers. He follows them through its initial battles, and the major battle of Kapyong. He takes them far beyond, defining the never ending effects of the war throughout the soldier's entire life. It is always there, cold, trying to drag him down, making things enormously difficult, requiring great strength to persevere. This comes through clearly. The main character's mind is filled with imagery from his time in Korea 60 years later, as he sits as an honored guest at the luncheon table in Rideau Hall with the husband of the Governor General of Canada. The reader can sense his heartbreak, his long suffering, how it will go on until the last day of his life. The near tragic thing is that the soldier written about fought in the Korean War at age 16, as did the author and many others who volunteered. There was an uplift for every soldier who served at the front, if they managed to survive for the first four or five months. They were pulled from the lines and given a five-day rest and recuperation leave in Tokyo. Some of them found the closest thing to love their lives might know, in the hotel brothels of that great city. It was still much destroyed from the bombings of World War Two. This factually history novel will acquaint readers of younger generations with a war that millions died in, but few know even the most basic things about. Who among them knows that years ago 21 different nations united to fight the invading armies of North Korea and China that had tried to conquer South Korea. It may help some readers understand the world of quaint old grandfathers who may now be in their mid-80's, or older; and those who passed away in younger years, and who never spoke much about the Korean War. It was never a "Forgotten War" for any of them. Not even for those who tried so hard to bury the hurtful memories.
About the Author: Vincent Courtenay has worked as a journalist in Korea and other nations in Asia, North America and Europe. He served in the Korean War as a very young soldier with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Some of his recent titles include "A Canadian Ambassador in Seoul" and "Irene Courtenay, the Brave Nurse," a biographical novel about his late sisters service in England and Italy during World War Two.