MOYEN, Léon

Léon was drafted on 5 February 1948. Soon after, he was detached to the Contrôle du Trafic Ferroviaire (CTF) in Germany on 15 April 1948 to protect the coal trains, which were supplying the Luxembourg steel industry. He was discharged in January 1949.

He rejoined the Army after the government’s call for volunteers for Korea. After successfully completing the training in the paratroopers facility in Beverloo, Belgium, he boarded the “Kamina” in Antwerp in December 1950 alongside Luxembourgish and Belgian servicemen to head out to Korea.

During a patrol on 2 May 1951, he was wounded by an enemy bullet while making contact near a South Korean police station. After 5 first aid treatments in the field, he was transferred to two military hospitals in Japan. Despite his injury, as one of the few soldiers of the first contingent who did so, he volunteered for a second term, which was about to roll out in February 1952. His main motivation was the camaraderie he had come to appreciate among the Korea volunteers. Being promoted Sergent de Réserve prior to his second term, he later became section leader.

Back from Korea, Léon was called up to serve in inter-ally military manoeuvres on several occasions. Like several other Korean veterans, Léon became disillusioned by the treatment he experienced in the Luxembourg Army. He recalled being confronted with derogatory behavior in the form of lack of recognition, jealousy, unfair treatment and disguised discrimination by senior officers dropping scathing comments about his commitment to Korea, revealed by the brown beret he was still entitled to wear. In November 1955, Léon emigrated to Canada, where he tried to join the Canadian Armed forces. Aged 26, he was refused on the grounds of already being “too old”.

Leaving the military world, Léon got married and raised a family in Toronto, Canada, where he still lives up to this day.