Sep/Oct 2008 - Korean War Veterans Association

POW at Koje-do
I read with great interest your “Seoul Survivors” article in The
Graybeards (May/June 2008, p. 65). I, too, was in the 453rd
Engineer Construction Battalion Headquarters Company in
Yongdong-po, Korea.
I joined the 453rd in July 1951.The 453rd had a position on
their organizational chart, “Chemical Lab Technician.“ Since I
had four years of chemistry in college, I was assigned to the
453rd. I quickly learned that there was no such position.
I could not operate any heavy construction equipment, had no
carpentry talent, etc. But I could type and was assigned as a corporal
company clerk in Headquarters Company. Subsequently, I
was assigned to Battalion Headquarters as a Staff Sgt. in
Personnel. My only duty outside Yongdong-po was an occasional
trip to Kimpo Air Force base a few miles south of Seoul.
Yes, on November 11 we were sent to Koje-do Island off
Pusan. North Korean and Chinese POW were interned there, as
you know. The 453rd was sent there mainly to build new POW
compounds. The former compounds were overcrowded and the
North Koreans and Chinese had many bloody fights for domination.
Once new, smaller compounds were completed, the POW were
ordered to leave their compounds in double file. They were naked
and very unruly; many died who refused orders and tried to
escape.
Were you there when the North Korean Compound 76 rioted?
Regardless of our jobs in the Army, all of us became involved in
trying to quell the rioters. Ultimately, the POW were restrained
and moved.
As I recall, the Chinese POW were never a problem. We let
them out on work details with very little supervision and never
had any problems with them. Being a draftee, I finally came home
on ETS in early October ‘52.
S. W. Vanderbeck, 1205 Hemingway Lane
Weldon Spring, MO 63304
NOTE: This is a copy of letter Ward Vanderbeck sent to Elroy P.
Fitzgerald in response to his letter in “Feedback.” Mr.
Vanderbeck sent The Graybeards a copy as well.
Recognize this officer?
There was a photo of a Sgt. Boyle at the Seoul City Air Base
on p. 66 of the May/June
issue. I was at that base with
the 6167 unit from Nov. 1951
to June 1952.
I took the nearby photo of
one of our base officers in
1951 or 1952. Unfortunately,
I do not remember him.
Can anyone ID him?
Maybe we can send him the
photo.
Robert (“Mac”) McKeever,
1083 E. Rio Mesa Trail,
Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Who was this officer?
Did Marines make the first helicopter
assault landing?
I was a Battalion Surgeon with the 1st Marine Division,
January to October 1952. Recently, my home town newspaper
reported on a talk I gave before one of the local Lions Clubs. This
takes me to a second bit of coincidental information.
I had a Keystone wind-up 8 mm movie camera that I took to
Korea. I was an amateur camera fan, so a local camera owner
who was a friend of my parents sent “care packages” with 8 mm
movie film regularly. As a result, I have my year with the
Marines, beginning at Camp Pendleton, now transferred onto
DVD.
I donated the DVD to the U.S. Marine Corps University
archives at Quantico, VA. Last October, during a reunion of my
unit, I had read the Vietnam-oriented book, We Were Soldiers
Once…and Young, and seen the movie based on it, starring Mel
Gibson. Both state that the helicopter was a “bumble-bee” in
Korea. They said that LtGen. James M. Gavin had an idea,
dream—centered on the helicopter—that it would carry infantry
into battle.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The book to which Dr. Latham refers was
written by LtGen Harold G. Moore, USA (Ret) and war journalist
Joseph L. Galloway. The book was published in 1992. [END
NOTE]
This was 1957, and not until February 1963, at Ft. Benning,
Georgia, was an air mobility concept board created. In August
1952, I was with the Shore Party Bn., training reserve units in
amphibious landings to maintain their proficiency. It was then,
between August 26th and September 3rd, that a new scheme of
landing was to be attempted, i.e., all combat troops by helicopter,
which we did. The all combat assault landings were a training
exercise for a reserve unit supervised by the Shore Party
Battalion with which I was associated. These landings were on
islands of Tok-Chok-To [sp] in the Yellow Sea.
I have movies of the training operation in the Yellow Sea,
northwest of Inchon. There were many official military photographers
taking still pictures, but I never saw a movie camera. I
have tried to establish this by writing to the U.S. Navy, with
referrals to their archives, etc. and I have received printouts of the
USS Sicily’s activities for the dates before and after mine.
So, after reading your May-June 2008 issue, pg. 54, “Minireunions”
section, I began an exchange of correspondence with J.
Robert Wagner, a member of the USS Sicily (CVE 118) antisubmarine
squadron. He has been able to find Deck Logs with my
name, date, time, hour and minute that I stepped aboard.
He tells me about their covert activities. Although they are
listed as restricted or confidential, that is no longer the case. They
are now public knowledge. Therefore, in my heart, and with
pride, I feel that the U.S. Marines made the first helicopter landing
of all combat troops in training, before the concept was
planned by the Army.
William E. Latham, MD (Ret)
crltrvlr@mymailstation.com
Busan vs. Pusan
The Korean people (Han Gook or First People) use Hangool
(the First Language). Osan in Hangool is an “O” over an upside
65
The Graybeards
September – October 2008