The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

1st Lieut.
HARRY DUGAN
Because of the men I was privileged to
be associated with during my
Korean air war experiences, I am
firmly convinced that valor and courage are
not inborn, they are not hereditary; instead,
they are the result of their then-current environment:
“When you are surrounded
by heroes,
it is damned difficult
to NOT perform
in a courageous manner!
Undeniably, for me, 1950 and 1951 were
vintage years for ‘Courage, Valor and
Heroism’.
And, while I was serving with the 18th
Fighter-Bomber Group and the pilots of
those old derelict F-51 Mustangs, I can
proudly state that: I ate with heroes, I drank
with heroes, and to a certain extent, a part of
me died with many of those heroes.
Perhaps another of the personal experiences
which I describe here will help to
explain what I mean ....
First Lieutenant
Harry E. Dugan
was another unique example... he was
one of the many people who demonstrated
their courage on the ground ... in an unexpected
way.
Following the invasion of South Korea
on Sunday morning, June 25, 1950, by the
Guts of a Different Kind
Taegu, Korea – August, 1950
Unsung Heroes of the Korean Air War
by
Duane E. ‘Bud’ Biteman,
Lt Col, USAF, Ret
North Korean forces, we had gone into
Korea in mid-July 1950 with the first increment
of the ‘Dallas Project’, a hastilyformed
squadron of volunteer fighter pilots
from the 18th Fighter-Bomber Group and
it’s support groups, then stationed at USAF’s
Clark Field in the Philippine Islands.
First Lieutenant Harry Dugan had been
frustrated at having been assigned to Clark
Field’s Air Base Group and, as a former P-
51 combat fighter pilot during World War II,
had been trying without success to transfer
into one of the 18th’s three fighter squadrons
for many months. When he heard that the
18th was looking for Mustang experienced
volunteers to go to Korea, Dugan immediately
contacted the 18th Fighter-Bomber
Group Commander, Col. Hank Norman, and
asked if he couldn’t join the volunteers
going North. He, too, was accepted because
of his many hours of F-51 time, and went up
to Taegu as a “buck fighter pilot,” I went
along to be the full-time Squadron
Intelligence Officer and part-time combat
pilot.
It didn’t take either, or any of us, long to
realize that our gallant, but feeble efforts,
initially flying ten derelict F-51 Mustangs
from the dirt airstrip at Taegu, South Korea,
were having little effect in slowing the North
Korean’s relentless offensive drive toward
Pusan. Things improved somewhat in early
August, with the arrival of a shipload of 150
‘new’ F-51 Mustangs and a batch of experienced
fighter pilots fresh from the ‘States on
the USS Boxer.
But by that time the North Korean forces
had crossed the Naktong River in three
places and were within twelve miles of our
base at Taegu. Their three-pronged attack,
from the west, the north and the east would
put them within artillery range of our airstrip
within hours.
On August 6, 1950, we were forced to
evacuate our F-51 Mustang fighters and the
majority of our Dallas Squadron personnel
(we had not yet been redesignated as the
“12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron) were
evacuated across the Sea of Japan to Ashiya
Air Base, Japan.
Having flown fighters in European combat
during World War II, Harry Dugan had
been exposed to many harrowing experiences,
and had been fortunate to have
escaped with life and limbs intact.
When we first started combat operations
from Taegu in mid-July, 1950, Harry flew
half a dozen early missions, but with each
bombing or rocket pass he felt his past recollections
of the sounds and feelings of his
European experiences becoming terrifyingly
real once more. The net effect of his psyche
produced an ever-growing apprehension for
his well-being.
He “knew” that he was going to be
maimed or killed by ground fire ... of which
there was, of course, a great possibility,
because low level FighterBomber combat
activities were universally acknowledged to
be the most dangerous of all aerial operations.
Dugan was far from being unique with
his morbid apprehension; each and every
one of us faced the same fear of our
unknown futures .
...and any combat pilot who denies having
had such feelings is either a damned liar
or a fool... or both!
By the 1st of August, 1950, Harry had
recognized and identified his fears ...he didn’t
need the opinion of a medical “Shrink” to
help define his problem, a luxury which was
not yet available to our burgeoning little war
zone... but despite recognition of the causes,
the depth and severity of the memory of his
prior experiences stymied his ability to bring
the deep emotions under control.
But Dugan admitted to those overpowering
fears that were so affecting his combat
performance.
Finally, when he could stand it no more;
when he felt that “he was becoming more of
Page 48 The Graybeards