gray06 Nov-Dec 2009_Gray01_Jan-Feb 2005.qxd.qxd - Korean War ...

The Great Buddha in Yokohama
A chapter of one
You do have a “Graybeard” member
in Belgium—and I am very
proud.
I wear my 7th Infantry Regiment
“Cottonbalers” hat frequently.
Bob L. Boucart, BLVD Anspach 17
Box 36, 1000, Brussels,
Belgium, 9.011.3222177296
LEFT: Bob L. Boucart
BELOW: The “Cottonbalers” pennant
Hero,” in the May-June 2009 issue of The Graybeards, p.16, I realized
that there was no mention of the individual on the extreme
right in the first photo. There were three helicopters involved in this
Ranger rescue; I flew one of them. The Ranger I rescued was
Raymond E. Baker, the third Ranger rescued that day—and the one
unidentified in the photo.
You will notice from the photo that he appears quite clean compared
to the other two Rangers. The reason he was able to clean up
is that we landed aboard the ship about 30 minutes prior to the others.
Having lived in his parka and jacket for over two weeks, his
first request was for a hot shower and some clean clothes.
Ranger Baker had on his person a small note pad with several
pages of intelligence information he had obtained about enemy
troops and materiel, which he turned in to his intelligence unit upon
his rescue. I can attest to the accuracy of his information, since I
observed these troops and their equipment as we flew up the very
narrow valley parallel to the trail the enemy troops were on.
Although we encountered several hundred troops during our rescue
mission, and heard at least fifty rounds of rifle fire, we were fortunate
that their aim was not accurate, as we were not hit.
I wrote an article about my participation in this rescue, titled “A
Hairy Rescue,” that was published in your magazine in 2007. The
photo in my article is identical to your photo, although the quality
of my photo is poor.
I recommend that Ranger Baker be included for induction into
the Ranger Hall of Fame, Fort Benning, Georgia. He certainly is
worthy of this honor after participating and surviving this mission
into North Korea.
Robert E. Felten, LCDR USN (Ret), 1356 Sycamore
Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Marine finds himself in a museum
At our Anti/Tank Co., 5th Marines (Korea) reunion on 18
September at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at
Quantico, VA, I ran across a photo that was taken in Korea on 7
February 1953. It pictured me and my tank driver, Norm Bodway,
carrying out one of the six Marines we were able to help.
The incident took place at the Samichon Valley, also known as
“76 Alley.”
As I recall, we were on line not doing much that day. But, A-1-
5 was laying wire and the Marines got caught out in the open,
receiving a lot of incoming. We were servicing our tanks while A-
1-5 was calling for help. So, three of us took off.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Seventh Infantry Regiment was constituted
11 January 1812, making it one of the five oldest regiments in the
United States Army. It ranks first on the Army’s Order of Merit List
in terms of date constituted, number of campaigns in which it participated,
and awards and decorations received. (Source: The
Seventh Infantry Regiment Association website, http://www.cottonbalers.com/)
Army Ranger Raymond E. Baker for Ranger Hall
of Fame
When I finished reading Col. Dillard’s article, “A True American
Chuck Batherson’s
picture on the wall
63
The Graybeards
November – December 2009