Korea :: The Patriot Files :: Dedicated to the preservation of military history

The village of Changbong-ni is located in central Korea, below the 38th Parallel and about 7 miles north of Hoengsong. My unit, 0 Battery of the 82nd AAA was armed with M-1 6 half-track vehicles which had a quad-50 turret mounted with four 50 caliber machine guns. The action described below took place on 11-12 February 1951. I was the senior Lieutenant of D Battery.

Note: by Paul G McCoy, 82AAA, D Btry. 9844 Reads

Chosin Reservoir

First served in Korea right after the end of World War II, from 1946 to 1948 with the following units. 1. 754 Tank BN, 7th Div. 2. Co "G" 2nd BN, 32nd Inf Regt, 7th Division. Started my tour of duty at Sui Saik, about 13 miles south of Seoul. Then moved up to Munsan next to the Imjim River, then up to Kaesong (now in hands of North Korea), and Onjin (a small pennsula of South Korea).

Note: by Clyde H. Queen, Sr 8884 Reads

Memoirs of a Chosin veteran

On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began. I listened to the news every day and when I heard my old outfit, Baker Company Fifth Marines, was in Korea fighting hard, I decided to re-enlist. Traveling to Kansas City, Missouri, to the Marine recruiting office I hoped to re-up as a sergeant. I was disappointed, for I had been involved in a car wreck and still had some cuts not fully healed.

Note: by PFC Charlie Carmin, 1st Marine Division 18095 Reads

Taejon, Korea, 1950

Dear Mom: Well, I suppose you wonder where I am, and where I have been. I will start at the beginning. We left for Korea the 1st of July. We were the first regiment to hit there and fight. The North Koreans had about ten divisions to our one regiment. About all we could do was hit them and back up and they would get us surrounded all the time.

Note: letter from PFC Donald Luedtke, U.S. Army 24th Division. 6229 Reads

Blind over North Korea

March 22, 1952. I was just 22 years old. Dawn found me on the flight deck of the USS Valley Forge in the Sea of Japan, warming up my Skyraider. As a pilot in Fighter Squadron 194, the "Yellow Devils," I was the standby in case one of the 8 planes scheduled for the morning's flight became inoperative.

Note: by Ken Schecter 6794 Reads

Mission 87

On my 87th mission, I flew a reconnaissance mission deep into North Korea. My primary target was an area of troop emplacements just north of the front lines and consisted of a requirement to photograph the area with vertical camera coverage in what is known as "mosaic photography".

Note: by Norman E. Duquette, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF 7150 Reads

Search and Destroy

It was 15 May 1951 and I was a 1st Lt. assigned to the 12th Sqdn, 18th FBW flying F-51Ds. This was my 44th mission. Assigned as element lead (no. 3) in a flight of four. Flight commander was Capt. AE Rice. His wingman was Lt. Forrest Strange. My wingman was Lt. Luther A. Webb.

Note: by Richard T. Gruber, LtCol (ret), 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 18th FBW. 6124 Reads

Flak Traps

On June 10th 1952 I crawled onto a crew bus at K-8 Korea for the ride to the Operations tent for my first mission with my new navigator. Captain Black, another B-26 pilot, was already on board and we discussed his mission status while on the way to the flight line.

Note: by James Willard Braly, 13th Bomb Squadron. 5916 Reads

Letter of Thanks

Our Combat Crew's operated RB-29s prior to the Korean Conflict from Kadena AB, Okinawa. We were accomplishing border surveillance flights both electronic and visual photography of sensitive areas with some overflights of targets of concern to the defense of the United States. Unfortunately our equipment, both aircraft, photo and electronic capabilities were antiquated and derelict.

Note: by Earl E Myers, 31/91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, Okinawa/Korea. 6275 Reads

Life of an FO

I entered active duty with the 47th Infantry Division from Minnesota. At the time I arrived in Korea, I was originally assigned to A Battery 143rd FA as Recon & Survey Officer on August 16, 1952. I was 1st Lt at that time. All of us, except the battery commander and executive officer, pulled tours as forward observer with the Korean infantry units we were supporting at that time.

Note: by William R Hendrickson 8629 Reads

Howitzers on ducks

It was July 1951. I was training with the division in Japan on the island of Honshu. The next part of our training was to be a mock invasion on Yokohama Beach. This landing would be exactly like a real invasion. All our vehicles were equipped for land service, but when the orders came down, they were to be retrofitted with snorkels, which would allow them to operate in shallow water such as beaches.

Note: by Bill Arnold, 143d FA 40th ID 7543 Reads

An Afternoon Near Twin Tunnels

It was January 28, 1951. I had been with my platoon for five days. The platoon leader, Lieutenant Mitchell, called us into his hut and informed us that we would be going on a motorized patrol the next day. He emphasized that it would be dangerous since a patrol had gone into the same region on the 28th without finding the enemy.

Note: by Richard C Fockler, 23rd lnf., C Co. 8733 Reads

R/R

There I was on the port side of a mighty Destroyer the U.S.S. O'Brien, DD725, sailing into the east coast waters of a place called Korea. Seemed to me the place was pretty hilly. As we got closer I noticed a flash of light. Not long after, another. I asked the nearest Chief I could see what that was all about. His reply was " Count to seven, kinda slow "

Note: by Louis "Digger" O'Dell 6399 Reads

Memoirs of James D Moran

In June 1948, when I reached the age of 16, I enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. When I turned 17, I signed on with the United States Army. I took my basic training at Ft Riley, Kansas. In basic, some liked it, some hated it. I didn’t like KP, GI parties or inspections, but I figured the rest was just great. After basic I was sent to Leadership School.

Note: James D Moran served with the 9th Inf Regt/Hq 1 Bn. 6781 Reads

13th Bomb Squadron

I spent only a short time in Korea but my Korean service stands as an important part of my life. I well remember there were times near sunrise when my crew on the west coast and another crew from the 17th Bb Gp on the east coast were the northernmost Americans and stood symbolically alone between Communism and Democracy.

Note: by Charles Hinton 8230 Reads

War Stories: Korea

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