How an American soldier ended up on Whitecourt’s cenotaph

Born in Roseburg, Oregon, on February 21, 1926, David Darwin Ivens was killed in action in Korea on June 3, 1951. Even though he was killed while serving with the United States Marines, his name is listed on the cenotaph at the Whitecourt Seniors Circle (incorrectly spelled with an a). Ivens died at just 25 years of age and is forever immortalized on a Canadian memorial but up until recently, he was mostly unknown. Over the years, members of the Legion were able to dig up some information.

At some point in his childhood, his mother, Anna-Belle Clemmons (previously married to John Bartlett Wooley) divorced his father, William Ivens, and moved to, of all places, Whitecourt, Alberta. How she came to live in the community from Oregon or specifically when it is not clear but, the fact is, she lived in Whitecourt for many years. Documentation gathered by Whitecourt Royal Canadian Legion Service Officer Kyle Scott shows that David left school following grade eight.

Two days after his 17th birthday, on February 23, 1943, he changed his last name to Wooley (his mother’s first husband), lied about his age, and enlisted in the Canadian Military. He remained in the Canadian Military for 36 months before discharge. “He spent much time in England, but he didn’t make it to France until after the war had ended,” explained Scott.

Another interesting bit was that six months into his service, he attempted to be discharged to care for his mother. Paperwork shows that Ivens applied for discharge on August 26, 1943, citing his mother’s status as a widow and her poor health as his reasoning. The application came with a letter from his mother and a letter from a public health nurse. One of the most interesting parts of the application is that it came with a letter of promised employment in Whitecourt.

The Western Construction & Lumber Co. Limited signed a dated letter on July 23, 1943, stating they would hire him when he returned to Whitecourt. A couple of months later, however, in October of 1948, the department closed the application and determined that he did not need the discharge. They discovered through interviews that his mother was living with a bachelor (whom she would eventually marry) and that she did not need her son’s help. It was also learned that he had lied about his age. It is unclear if he faced any repercussions for having signed up underage.

Following his official discharge from the Canadian Military in February of 1949, Ivens made his way to the United States where he enlisted with the US Marines. It was a quick turnaround for him as he graduated to Private First Class on October 6, 1950, less than two years from his time with the Canadian Military. From there, he deployed to Korea, dates unknown, and was stationed in Chinche until his death on June 3, 1951. That’s where the information became stagnant until a chance phone call changed everything.

Two years ago, a man reached out to the local Legion in search of information. He told Scott that he was writing a book and that he was looking to reach out to family members of David Ivens. Realizing that they were speaking of the largely unknown soldier listed on the Whitecourt cenotaph, he immediately reached out for more information. “It turned out that this man was the son of Ivens’ Platoon Commander, who was still alive, in his nineties, living in the states. The son was writing his dad’s memoir.”

Finally, Scott would come to learn how the soldier died. “Korea is very hilly, and that’s essentially what it was, a fight from hilltop to hilltop. They captured a hilltop, but they did it very, very quickly and no-one, I don’t think, thought they would do it that quickly. Rarely were there any outright successes like that. What ended up happening was that another platoon ended up opening fire on them because they thought they were Chinese. Ivens was killed instantly. Two others were wounded before they probably realized what had happened and ceased fire, but it was too late.”

About 10 days after Ivens was killed, his Platoon Commander was injured, and it ended the war for him. “He ended up back in the states, decorated, and ended up as one of JFK’s aids while he was president! He’s truly one of the world’s most interesting men, and if his son weren’t writing this book, then no-one would ever know who he was,” said Scott. Had it not been for the commander wanting to share his stories and his son wanting to tell them, the truth about Ivens may not have been told.

Roughly a year ago, Scott made a stop at the Beechmount Cemetery in Edmonton which is one of the city’s oldest cemeteries dating back to the early 1900s. He was there to walk through the rows of veterans and find Ivens. Ten rows in and there he was. He quickly shot a video and sent it off to the author. Moments later, he received a video back from the Platoon Commander himself thanking him for his hard work for veterans. He called Ivens a remarkable marine.

“He’s never been to his grave, and it has troubled him. He’s probably not going to make it up here because of his age, but he’s essentially been to it now,” said Scott. “Ivens’ mom went on a campaign with our Legion after Korea to get his name added to the cenotaph. As the rules are written, he’s not entitled to it because he wasn’t serving the Canadian Military when he was killed. They compromised on it, though, because Canada was fighting in the same war, and he was a Canadian veteran already from World War Two. His name has been on there ever since, and it’s nice to finally get to tell his story.” We will remember them.