James Riley Stone (2 August 1908 – 24 November 2005) was a Canadian soldier and military commander. Born in

Winterbourne, Gloucestershire Winterbourne is a large village in South Gloucestershire, England, situated just beyond the north fringe of Bristol.OS Explorer Map, Bristol and Bath, Keynsham & Marshfield. Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). The vil ...

, he enlisted in the Edmonton Regiment in 1939 and fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, rising from the rank of private to lieutenant colonel. Major Stone won the Military Cross at the Battle of Ortona in Italy in 1943, when he single-handedly assaulted a German anti-tank gun that was blocking his company's advance and silenced it with a grenade. As his regiment's commanding officer, he won the Distinguished Service Order at the Battle of San Fortunato in Italy in 1944, where his actions hauling heavy guns up a steep mountain caused the German Gothic Line to withdraw from a strategic position. He was awarded a bar to his DSO in the Netherlands for actions against well-entrenched German forces in March 1945. After returning to British Columbia during the post-war years, he commanded the Rocky Mountain Rangers, a unit of the

Canadian Army Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, th ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he commanded the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He led the 700 men of this battalion in a famous last stand defending the strategic Hill 677 against the fierce assault by a full division of about 20,000 soldiers of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Battle of Kapyong in April 1951. The UN position on Hill 677 prevented the enemy from breaking through to Seoul and potentially surrounding the U.S. forces in Korea. Supporting units of the Australian Army and the U.S. artillery had fled the battlefield, leaving the 2 PPCLI encircled and depleted of ammunition. Stone ordered his men, "No retreat, no surrender." He received a second bar to his DSO for his leadership in this crucial battle together with other actions in 1951. In December 2016, the

Government of South Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is th ...

's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs designated Stone posthumously as an official Korean War Hero. The citation stated that the 2 PPCLI battalion had "achieved a milestone victory when they won the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong) against formidable attacks from Chinese troops" and that "with their victory in the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong), Stone and his soldiers are remembered as the Legends of Gapyeong to this day." After the war, while serving in Ottawa as the provost marshal in command of the

Canadian Provost Corps The Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) was the military police corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Provost Corps was authorized on 15 June 1940. The Canadian Provost Corps was amalgamated with the police forces of the Royal Canadian Navy and R ...

, he founded the Military Police Fund for Blind Children. He was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1994.

Honours and awards

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Commanding officer talks about Canada’s first battles in KoreaThe legacy of Col. James Riley Stone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, James Riley 1908 births 2005 deaths Military personnel from Gloucestershire People from Winterbourne, Gloucestershire Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel of the Korean War Loyal Edmonton Regiment soldiers Rocky Mountain Rangers British emigrants to Canada

Honours and awards

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References

External links