PYEONGTAEK, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], SOUTH KOREA
03.28.2025
Story by Lt.Cmdr. Brendan Trembath
United Nations Command
CAMP HUMPHREYS — South Korea. Major Jake Porter, a Canadian Army Infantry Officer currently serving at 1st Canadian Division Headquarters in Ontario, recently deployed to the Republic of Korea and retraced the steps of his Korean War veteran grandfather.
“To be able to come to South Korea in an official capacity while wearing the uniform is very important to me,” said Porter, reflecting on the significance of his sixth deployment.
Porter supported United Nations Command during Exercise FREEEDOM SHIELD 2025 in March and worked alongside service members from a range of nations, including the ROK, U.S. Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
For Porter, the deployment was deeply personal.
He visited the snow-covered Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean Peninsula, the carefully maintained United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan and the mountainous battlefields of Kapyong where his grandfather Lance Corporal Beverley Porter was an ambulance driver with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
“I managed to make it up to Kapyong to see the old trench lines, see the appalling terrain that these soldiers had to fight in, terrain that looks nice on a postcard but would be difficult to climb and fight in,” Porter said.
“South Korea is somewhere I’ve always wanted to come,” Porter added.
His grandfather had been excited to learn of his upcoming journey before passing away at age 97.
“I was able to tell him I was coming before he passed away, and he was quite excited about that,” Porter said.
He emphasized the importance of Canada’s continued support for the ROK referencing the historical ties and shared values between the two nations. “As a founding member of the United Nations Command, Canada has been defending the Republic of Korea since the outset,” he explained. “Peace, democracy, freedom, and human rights are core values for Canadians.”
Porter’s dedication to his service and family legacy continues to strengthen the bond between Canada and the ROK.