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A new book takes readers back to the early days of Elliot Lake’s uranium mines, the people who worked at them, the rough roads and the pristine Northern Ontario scenery. ‘ Elliot Lake Love Story’ was written by Korean War veteran and journalist Vincent Courtenay who spent a good portion of two years working in Elliot Lake at a uranium mine beginning in 1957. Courtenay told The Standard that while the book is based on some real life events, the story is fictional. The war vet went to Elliot Lake in 1957 and worked at one of the mines on the bull gang for a construction company before transferring to the mine’s security police force.
The battle is called the “Miracle at Gapyeong.” The heroic incident took place on May 25, 1951, in South Korea when a small battalion of 240 brave young soldiers from small-town southern Utah Latter-day Saint homes found themselves suddenly under attack by 4,000 Chinese and North Korean soldiers. It was a terrifying and completely unexpected attack. They were given the understanding that they were to provide artillery support to allied soldiers positioned ahead at the North Korean enemy line. But there were critical miscommunications and in fact, there was no buffer between the Utah soldiers and the enemy.
They were shocked and terrified to discover that they were being directly attacked, and drastically outnumbered. The battle is accurately described as “a ferocious hand-to-hand battle fought in the early morning darkness.” At dawn, Lt. Frank Dalley and Captain Ray Cox led their Latter-day Saint battalion into battle. They courageously fought their way through the Gapyeon