Jan/Feb 2013 - Korean War Veterans Association

Attendees at Ch 250 Christmas dinner
Other local Koreans got “wind” of our guests. They included
Hugh Lee, President of the Mid-Michigan Korean Association,
Midland, MI, Woo Sung Sae of Midland, and two loca1 Korean pastors,
from Saginaw. Their presence led to some interesting exchanges
of information. Public Relations Director Bob Simon and his wife
Lois, Acting Historian, took the delegation to breakfast the following
morning.
Although the Korean delegation members were all born in South
Korea, most of them came to America between 4-6 years of age.
They were all interested in hearing Simon’s stories of Korea in the
1950s, especially about “Cheerful Charlie” and “Smiling Sam,” guys
who picked up human waste to put it in rice paddies. Today, real fertilizer
must be used and modern tractors work up the rice paddies.
Also, they could not believe the people did not own cars back
251 SAGINAW/FRANKENMUTH [MI]
Then And Now
We held our November 7, 2012 meeting at the Aleda Lutz VA
Hospital in Saginaw, MI. We had 51 Korean vets present, plus 9
guests. The highlight of our meeting was a visit from the Korean
Consul General’s Office in Chicago. I had been contacting them for
three months to come and speak to us at our meeting.
Two Korean representatives came: Jin-Hyun Lee and Jae Kwang
Kim. They brought gifts for all of our members. The gifts were a
Peace Proclamation and a Peace Medal on a rainbow-colored neck
ribbon.
Ken Heck, Jacob Klemm (Front, L-R), Tony Blasey (Middle, in white shirt),
and Frank Licht to his left at Ch 251 meeting
Jin-Hyun Lee (L-Front), Bob Simon (to his right) and (Back, R-L) Woo Sung
Sae (Midland, MI), Jae Kwang Kim, Hugh Lee
Bob Simon of Ch 251
displays the “Peace
Medal” and miniature
pins and medal presented
by visitors
from Chicago Consul
General’s office
Members of Ch 251 at the Nov. 7, 20l2 meeting at the Aleda Lutz VA Hospital
then. Now, in big cities every home has two cars. Another thing, taxi
cabs were 1940s vintage. The drivers had to display an A or R, which
designated the days on which they could operate. (They were allowed
to drive only on odd or even days.)
Since there were zero gas stations, “slicky” boys would meet G.I.
5-ton tractor/cattle trailers waiting for secretaries, kitchen help,
mechanics, etc. for a ride to military compounds. The boys siphoned
30 to 50 gallons of gasoline while the Korean driver of the
tractor/trailers waited for workers to go to the military camps.
As a military policeman, I often wondered why these Korean
truck drivers would fill the two 50-gallon tanks on the labor trucks.
As Military Police out of Pusan, we would catch the boys, hand-
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The Graybeards January - February 2013