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Winter Sports, North Korea, 1950
In early December, 1950 at Yonpo Airfield, North Korea, I was assigned as a member of a team taking a Portable Radar set to the Chosin reservoir. After loading the equipment into a jeep and trailer, we drove over to the squadron mess tent to pick up some C-rations. It was about 8pm at night. At the mess tent we were told to stand down as the Marines at the Chosin were cut off due to other military units retreating, exposing the Marines flank.
As a young man I successfully made an attempt to get away from my father by joining the Corps. I managed to get one of my “connected” friends get me a forged birth certificate, because I was only 16 years old, and as soon as I got it I went down to the Marine Corps recruiting office at the main post office in Chicago, Illinois and enlisted. I was subsequently sent out to MCRD San Diego where I completed my boot camp early in 1952 and went to Camp Pendelton with the 1st Marines for advanced infantry training. Immediately after that I shipped out to Korea in late 1952. I served in Korea until the spring of 1953 when I was wounded and sent home.
On the right is 1st Sgt McDonald with a chest of medals nearing retirement. On the left is a very "boot" Second Lieutenant with a National Defense Medal. We all thought the boot 2nd Lt was very cool because he drove a new Porshe sports car. Unfortunately I have forgotten his name. This would have been around 06/67 to 01/68. If anyone recognizes him please contact me using my name @Gmail. Thanks.
When the fire mission came down we advised FDC that completion of the mission would overshoot our tube and our radioman advised them to give the mission to another gun. FDC had a different round count for our gun and insisted (ordered) we complete the fire mission. If memory serves correctly, we overshot the tube by about 13 rounds before the explosion occurred. We (the gun crew) were never allowed to talk with the investigators so I have no idea what the official version of events was. I was blown off the gun into the ammo bunker and a large piece of shrapnel from the tube imbedded itself into the bunker wall about 6 inches from my head. Here is a picture of me holding the shrapnel while squatting next to a piece of the tube (laying on the ground) taken the next morning after digging the shrapnel out of the bunker. I brought that piece of shrapnel home with me and still have it to this day.
i was glad to see the response to letter about how DI's treated some recruits. I was not saying it never happened it just did not happen in our platoon. My time in the Corps is something that I will never forget. Wanted to included some photos taken at Khe Sanh , Viet Nam. There is a Khe Sanh Veteras Reunion in Rochester Mn nest July. go to www.khesanh.org for more detail.
Sgt Grit,
I enjoyed viewing the photograph of the Marine Corps Birthday Cake taken in 1969 on Hill 88. The attached photograph was taken at the Marine Corps Combat Base of Khe Sanh, Headquarters Company, First Battalion, 13th Artillery Regiment on the Marine Corps Birthday in 1967, just a few short months before the start of that long and horrific Siege.
In conjunction with this year's Marine Corps Engineers Association reunion –
We look forward to the reunion this year with the members the return 11th Engineer Marine team of Jan 89'.
In the return photo:
LtoR are: Marine Frankie Noe of Mass, Sgt. Billy Johnson of Conn, Gene Spanos of Ill [ Team Leader ] Mike "Doc" Wallace of Kansas and Nate Genna of Mass.
Here's an airwinger Pic for you. This was taken in early 1966 to commerate our 5,000th sortie. VMA 223 flew A4 Skyhawks. What a great war bird it was. I was on the check crew and recruited to hold the sign (I'm the one in the T-shirt) for this photo op. Later that year I was rotated to CONUS for separation from active duty.
The attached photo was taken of the celebration of my 100th Mission in Vietnam, flying as a RIO in F-4 fighter-bombers with VMFA-122. My pilot was Kurt Wilbrecht, shown leaning against the aircraft, who was later killed in action.
David Dunn
Georgetown, Texas
Sgt. Grit,
I just started reading this week's newsletter, and the story about ROK Marines brought back a couple of memories. The only contact I had with any of them was on 24 December 1966 at the Chu Lai airstrip on my way to board the C130 that would take me from India Battery 3/11 up to Danang for my six-month stint as art'y FO for Lima 3/7. As I was walking toward the aircraft, I passed a Korean Marine heading in the opposite direction. I nodded in greeting in passing, and as I looked him in the eyes, I saw what I have seen only a few other times: the expression of a cheetah or tiger in a cage–cold. In the Danang area, I heard about how they responded when a vehicle hit a mine in the road: they came off the vehicle shooting everything in sight. As a result, they didn't have too many such incidents in their Tactical Area of Responsibility.
