The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

Seizing a weapon during one particularly violent enemy assault.,
PARKER assisted in defending the stricken men in his charge and,
although seriously wounded a second time when nearing the end of
the night-long engagement, gallantly refused aid for himself until all
the casualties had been evacuated. By his daring initiative, fortitude
and selfless efforts in behalf of his comrades, he served to inspire all
who observed him and aided immeasurably in the saving of many
lives. His outstanding courage, skill and steadfast devotion to duty
reflect the highest credit upon PARKER and the United States Naval
Service.
For the President,
Dan A. Kimball
Secretary of the Navy
(Thank you Ray for the letter, photo and documents. Thank you
Jim for your deeds above and beyond the call of duty. We are
honored to have you as a member. The men you served with will
never forget you and I listed your and your son’s address so others
can thank you and also tell the story to your father’s family.)
Above and beyond the call of duty? — Not really!
In praise of the Army Medical Corps
Medics deserve all the praise they can get. Many don’t get
much, especially those who don’t make it to the battle zones. Two
of my heroes, so far as I know, never left the States but they certainly
made life better for many hospitalized soldiers.
One medic, a “ward boy” (do they still call them that? I hope
not!) at Walter Reed Army Hospital, did a good deed which no
doctor or nurse would have or probably should have but it needed
doing. It’s difficult to describe in polite words. I was just back
from Korea, in a cast from waist to toe and internally plugged-up
by whatever potions they used in those days to keep me off the
pot until a bullet hole near the “anal cavity” healed. One morning
the cast was hacked off and I was more or less free to move
around some, which shook things up internally and brought on
my very first post-op “nature call.” I hollered for “ward boy” and
said he could forget the urinal can. He shouldered me through the
ward to the latrine., sat me down and said for me to give it a try
and if I couldn’t push it out he’d give me a hand, which is literally
what he did. When my grunts and groans couldn’t move the
massive three week old buildup, he stood me up and leaned me
head first over the hopper, reached in with his fingers and did the
job manually. Then he cleaned me off, washed his hands, helped
me back to bed and went off to his next task. Just another cleanup
job but definitely not in his job description. A hero? Many
times over!
Months later, when ambulatory, more or less, a couple of us
were in our bunks moaning about not ever being able to play golf
again, Freddy with his plastic leg and me with an in-place but
useless lower leg. “Ward boy” (another one) was nearby doing
his chores and we heard him mumble something like “You bunch
of crybabies oughta quit bitching and give it a try.” This sounded
like a challenge so we took him up on it. When his shift ended he
loaded us in his flivver and drove to a nearby nine hole goat pasture.
We rented a few clubs, quaffed a couple of brews and teed
it up. He held us up as we tried to remember how to swing,
picked us up when we fell and goaded us through the nine holes.
The whole thing was hilarious. He was as bad as we were but
took us for a couple of bucks anyway. I think from that day on
Freddy and I stopped feeling so sorry for ourselves and began to
join the real world. Rehab comes in many disguises, from
masked surgeons to skillful therapists, to smiling nurses, to nosy
do-what-it-takeswhite jacketed “ward boys”. or should we say
“Ward Angels”??
(Thanks Pete Wood for a special letter about our non-combat
heroes. I did manage to clean up your story. After returning from
Korea as a tank driver with the 2nd Inf. Div. I ended up as a ward
boy. Never was ashamed of the title but it did change as I went
up the promotion ladder. I found many things we had to do was
difficult but it was part of the job, or as they now say “it comes
with the territory.” They may now call them male nurses, doctors
assistants or just attendants. Maybe if a former tank driver
did that job on you would have had another name for him.)
Accident on the high seas
Photos below show the USS Ault DD698 and USS
Haynesworth DD700 in dry dock at Yokosuka Navel Ship Yards
in Japan after a collision at sea off the coast of Korea, Dec. 20,
1953.
USS Ault DD698
USS Haynesworth
DD700
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The Graybeards