A return to battle

Age and his injuries, however, made a return to the battlefield more painful, his friend says.



"The physical strain, no doubt, must have been a great deal more on guys in their 30s, particularly guys who had been wounded in the leg and were carrying a bullet around with them," said Vincent Courtenay, 84, a fellow Korean war veteran who befriended Rushton later in life.

Robert Rushton, one of the man's four sons, recalls how the injury affected his father.

"In particular, when he was climbing the mountains in Kapyong in Korea, he found that it bothered him — although he did continue on to do his job as a soldier."

Rushton, pictured here in Korea, felt the strain of his injuries in the Second World War when he served in Korea.

Rushton, pictured here in Korea, felt the strain of his injuries in the Second World War when he served in Korea.

But it wasn't in Rushton's nature to complain or let on about the injury to others.

His former brother-in-arms, Bernie Cote, 89, was unaware of the bullet lodged in Rushton's leg; Cote said he only learned about it through speaking to CBC News. Instead, what he remembers of the soldier he served alongside in 1951 was his laid-back attitude and the way in which he inspired the men around him.

He was a "real guy from down East," Cote said. "And all the guys in the platoon thought the world of him."

Rushton's past wartime experience made him a role model for those serving alongside him, Cote said.

"When you get somebody that knows something and you don't know nothing, they were like a father figure to you," said Cote, who was then 22 to Rushton's 33 years of age.

"You felt safe with them."

Rushton's past service in the Second World War inspired the men around him, according to a former comrade. He was the person they trusted.

Rushton's past service in the Second World War inspired the men around him, according to a former comrade. He was the person they trusted.

An example of this came when Rushton's platoon worked to capture Hill 532, a mountainous piece of terrain named for the fact it was 532 metres above sea level.

Their platoon led the offensive and Rushton took charge after his platoon officer was injured at the start of the mission, says Courtenay, who wrote about the offensive in the book Rideau Hall, which follows the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from 1950 to 1951.



He says Rushton and his comrades fought all day through ankle-deep snow to reach the heavily defended summit before the Pictou County soldier made a critical decision.