Korea

Over the years since the Korean Conflict started on June 30, 1950, I have accumulated quite a collection of books and stories concerning the Korean War. At the present time, I probably have as good a collection as most large libraries. Included are many from western authors and Chinese sources who were present during the war on the opposite side.

I have been impressed over the years by military writing, particularly the military stories which concern active involvement of armies in the field and prior to going into the field. I really have not been interested in the logistics of the services or the ability of one person to command or not command the other. More so, I am intrigued by the situations which rose among individual infantrymen as they served their country or combination of countries in the service. I have had a number of books sent to me concerning both the German Army in World War II as well as all the American battles of World War II. Many grandiose situations such as Guadalcanal, which I consider the number one battle for the United States in World War II, are represented. I am not, in any way or form, a historian or novelist; just an average person who 50 years ago at this time was getting ready for the Korean War and didn't know where it began or how. I had thought over the years of perhaps gathering together a few memories which remained in my head from 1950. I have done this without consulting journals, dates, or diaries of other authors. I have no bibliography to quote. Some of the ideas and things that I am preparing to put into print will be comprised of information that is not quite complete and perhaps not exactly correct. However, this is more an assembly of ideas and situations which took place rather than individual highlights. It will be a free style running of events as remembered and most written about in letters. Salvaged and saved for 50+ years.

Again, the ideas which I am going to put forth are those of my own. I had no one to back me up, as a history of some of the situations and places have been overdone many times. In any case, this preface is short and will be elongated as time goes on. However, 50 years later from my time in Korea, I have put together my ideas, my thoughts and background on some of the situations which occurred during my time with the Marine infantry. This was during 1950-1951.

This account, may be too short, may be too long and may not be worth anything. However, to me it is just an effort to gather some impressions which I have had that I feel have not been approached in the many accounts that have been written concerning any war and the role of the infantryman in this conflict. This preface is just a start in my explanation as to why I am doing this not too lengthy piece of history.

I am not a historian, as I said, and I am not very good at writing. I am going to do best I can to put together some ideas, whether they be good or bad, really for my own interests and perhaps to pass on to some close people in my family who have been asking me for a long time to set this in motion. When I get to the portion of the book on acknowledgments, I will add where and how the most important pressure came from to put this together. This has always been a hobby of mine, although I am still working full-time. I feel it will be worth the effort to try to add something to the realm of posterity in my own family particularly.

The text of the semi-novel essay, which I am going to be put together, will be pried from textbooks and some knowledge which I have here, including maps located from previous books by other authors who were in Korea at the time. I have been impressed, over a lifetime, with the war movies, in that they don't seem to tell the right story or all the story of combat as it happened. There are certainly good books out. There are several written by Steven E. Ambrose, and particularly the most recent by Martin Ross, that cover the efforts of the infantryman very closely. However, I am not interested in the so called blood and guts type of story that revolves about the American infantryman. I am more interested in other aspects which I feel have been neglected and need to be addressed by someone. Infantryman humor in situations that did not seem to be humorous, associated facilities and people who made efforts in combat which were never really followed up, including religious and ethnic backgrounds, and in general the average little fellow who did not actually shoot the rifle or ever fire on anyone, but was always there trying to the best he could in unusual and dangerous surroundings. Remember, in the line of action, only one out of eight soldiers ever fire a rifle at any one in person, and perhaps only one out of two ever strike a so called "enemy" with the rifle bullets that he fired himself. A fair number of front liners won't fire at anyone. A war is carried on much better by people in the rear who fire long range cannons, mortars, or bazookas. They saw no effects from their effort, but follow-up investigation revealed a tremendous amount of mayhem and death from the long range guns.

Again, I am going to try to touch on a few things perhaps not covered by other authors with this effort, including those who wrote the famous D-Day books, but this will be a little more close in truth to those who were involved in combat effort rather than a rear observer's view. Names of those involved will be mostly true. In order to make it legitimate and just, they will be names of individuals who are alive or who were alive in the 1950's as best as the names can be remembered. In general, the story will be adapted in a general sequence around certain events which took place in my own attachment to the United States Navy in 1949, 1950 and through 1951.