" In April 1951, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army fought a major engagement with The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade at Kapyong.

The Royal New Zealand Artillery’s 16 Field Regiment fired in direct support of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and the Canadian army’s 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry, from the 23rd to the 25th of April.

New Zealand ground forces in Korea were specially raised as ‘Kayforce’.

During the action at Kapyong, ‘Kayforce’ suffered its first fatal battle casualty with the death of Second Lieutenant Dennis Fielden, MiD RNZA. The experienced Fielden had previously served for seven years with the Royal Artillery and the Royal Air Force before joining ‘Kayforce’ in New Zealand. He was serving as a Forward Observation Officer with A Company 3 RAR when he was killed in action on the eve of Anzac Day 1951.

The A Company position had been initially so quiet that Fielden’s signaller was asleep. In the confusion of the sudden Chinese attack at around 1 am that night he was woken, told to get out and up the ridge to call-in fire. Fielden was killed as he left the scrape to do the same. His body was not recovered until the 27th of May 1951.

He was posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches for his conduct at Kapyong .

The death of the ‘popular and unassuming officer [was] much regretted by officers and men alike’."

[ Paul Simadas/NZ Remembrance Army/Facebook. Retrieved 11/4/22]