Jan/Feb 2008 - KWVA - Korean War Veterans Association

Huts l, 2, 3 at Radio Co. (12/13/53
Dan Sweeney (12/20/53)
picture a world without computers, satellites,
the Internet and cell phones, then
you know that we “graybeards” lived in
a different world—some would say—
different planet.
About 100 men operated the central
unit in Bupyong, a compound small
enough to cross on foot in several minutes.
Areas of greatest traffic were covered
with sand to keep
boots and wheels from
getting stuck in the
mucky red clay when
rain soaked the earth. A
tiny brook along a ditch
probably drained into the
rice paddies. These had
an intricate system of
water ducts to regulate
the water depth among
the paddies. In the rainy
season (midsummer),
foxholes and bunkers got
flooded. When the Han
River flooded,
AN/GRC-26 rigs took
off for Seoul to assist in
emergency operations.
The shabby barracks
we lived in—we called
them huts—were
cement-stucco billets
built by the Japanese
during their occupation.
Each had two diesel
space heaters. The guys
showed a talent for
making themselves at
home, each man arranging his bunk area
to suit himself, with what personal items
he possessed. Pictures of girlfriends and
wives competed with pinups. We had an
R-100 radio that always worked. No
excuse for it not to in this company.
Non-living quarters, such as the mess
hall, radio repair shop, motor and power
pools, were in Quonsets huts. The BOQ
Captain George E. Posner, CO (6/54)
was a building of Japanese origin with
murals and sliding shoji. U.S. and U.N.
flags flew on separate poles in front of
the administrative building. An adjoining
building housed a radio installation
run by the Korean Ministry of
Communications (KMOC). A couple
locust trees and a few small evergreens
grew behind the huts. Probably—and not
by accident—a Rose of Sharon shrub
grew on our compound. Rose of Sharon
is Korea’s national flower.
A ten-minute ride by jeep (speed limit
20 mph) brought you to the busy town of
Ascom City. The MLR, which became
the southern limit of the demilitarized
zone, was about 30 miles north of us.
The men’s isolation on this tiny island in
a sea of rice paddies was unpleasant, but
it gave them only themselves to contend
with.
With good officers, life was OK—
allowance made for rice paddies that
reeked of “honey” when papa-san fertilized
his crops. Our best CO was Captain
George E. Posner, a wonderful photographer
who came to us from the 304th’s
Photo Platoon. He was a gem among
officers, a great inspiration to shutterbugs.
I had trained at Fort Monmouth, New
Jersey, as a Fixed Station Radio
Repairman. That MOS (#1649) was
designed for servicing large radio equipment
installed in or near a major city.
(You could hide inside one of the transmitters!)
I’d go to Tokyo and meet a
beautiful Japanese girl. Right? Well, the
only things “fixed” in Korea were the
mountains, although some of the smaller
William J. Claypool at BC-610 transmitter (8/54)
47
The Graybeards January-February 2008