Jul/Aug 2006 - Korean War Veterans Association

Anyone Have A Spare
Airplane Lying Around?
Jim Rusher is seeking a jet fighter airplane
for static display at a veterans’
memorial. He can be reached at 436
Luther Lane, Gibsonburg, OH 43431,
(419) 637-2352.
Fighting In Korea In 1974
I’m looking for anyone who was in
Korea on June 28, 1974 and knows of
fighting taking place at the DMZ with
North Korean forces. This happened
immediately after the massacre of 22
ROK sailors by North Korean naval gunboats
on June 28, 1974.
I was at the DMZ with the 1st/9th Inf.,
2ID and participated in securing the
Central Corridor, known to the Korean
war veterans as the Iron Triangle.
Please contact Dr. Richard Morrow,
P.O. Box 2258, Moca, PR 00676, or
enginstprof@yahoo.com if you have any
info about fighting on the DMZ during
June 1974.
VR6 at Westover/USS
Minidoro (CVE 120)
I served on active duty in the U.S.
Navy from 27 January, 1951 to 23 June,
1955. I would like to reach men who
served in VR6 at Westover Air Force base
during 1951 and 1952 to see if there is
interest in a reunion.
I would also like to find out if there is
any interest in a reunion for people who
served aboard the USS Minidoro (CVE
120) in 1952/53/54/55.
Death Notice of a Member of KWVA
If anyone is interested, contact Louis
DeLuca, 485 Clawson Street, Staten
Island, NY 10306, (718) 987-8111.
USS Marine Devil
I am looking for anyone with knowledge
of a troop ship called USS Marine
Devil to rebuild records lost by the U.S.
military. The purpose is to establish the
service time of a pre-war Korean veteran.
Here is the information I have:
• joined service from San Fernando,CA.
• time of service Oct.46 - Mar.48
• time in Korea Dec.47 - Feb.48
• 20th Inf. Regt., 24th Corps, Anti-Tank
Co., 1st.Battery,
• Korea - Camp Sykes
Apparently he traveled on the U.S.S.
Marine Devil merchant marine carrier,
which was converted to a troop carrier.
The V.A. says this ship was decommissioned
Apr. 1st, 1946.
So, we are trying to prove my dad’s
time in Korea.
If you have any information, please
contact me. at ronalcantar@ yahoo. com
Thanks
Rudolph Orduno
18701 Flying Tiger Drive #427
Santa Clarita, CA 91315
All Chapter and/or Department news
for publication in The Graybeards
should be mailed to Art Sharp, Editor,
152 Sky View Dr., Rocky Hill, CT
06067 or emailed to:
Sharp_arthur_g@sbcglobal.net
The following notice is submitted for publication:
Name of deceased ____________________________________________________
Date of death ________________________________________________________
Department/Chapter __________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________
Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Coast Guard
Other ______________________________________________________________
Primary Unit of service during Korean War
Submitted by ________________________________________________________
Relationship to deceased________________________________________________
Send to: Membership, P.O. Box 101238, Arlington, VA 22210
Book Review
A Foxhole View
Edited by Louis Baldovi
Note: We regret that Mr. Baldovi died on
7/25/2006
University of Hawaii Press, 2002. 297 pp.
ISBN 0-8248-2610-8, $21.95
As the title suggests, this collection of
memoirs provides a foxhole view of
the Korean War, from routine operations,
to horrifying prison-camp experiences,
and raging firefight. Louis Baldovi, a
former rifleman with the U.S. Army’s
45th Infantry Division, interviewed
dozens of Hawaii’s Korean War veterans,
and this book gives them a long
overdue voice in recalling their contributions
and sacrifices from 1950 - 1953.
Baldovi explains the importance of giving
voice to Hawaii’s veterans:
In comparison to the overall population
of the United States, Hawaii suffered
three times as many wounded and
three and a half times the total number of
casualties. Of the sixteen nations,
excluding the United States, that sent
ground combat units to Korea, only
Turkey and the United Kingdom had
more men killed in action than Hawaii.
In spite of the sacrifices by Hawaii soldiers,
little had been told about them following
the war and, at the same time,
very little was heard from its veterans.
(p. ix)
Baldovi’s compilation of interviews is
structured chronologically, enabling the
reader to share the overlapping experiences
of numerous soldiers from month
to month as the Korean conflict began,
escalated, and moved toward resolution.
For example, while some soldiers fought
under terrible conditions at Pork Chop
Hill, others simultaneously languished
under miserable conditions in Korean
prison camps. While some soldiers spent
nights in flooded foxholes, others lay
wounded in field hospitals, or were on
R&R.
The book’s structure allows the reader
to get to know some soldiers as they
recall their experiences from enlistment
to their return home to Hawaii. Through
Continued on page 70
55
The Graybeards
July - August A
2006