Jan/Feb 2010 - Korean War Veterans Association

Have You Tried The
Google Connection?
Irving Peckler (L) and Tony DeBlasi (R), Radio Operations
Co., 304th Signal Bn., Bupyong, Korea, 1953-54
When Irving Peckler and I wore Army dog tags we were sent
to Korea after being trained as “fixed station” radio repairmen.
That was a laugh, because there was no such equipment in Korea.
Everything was mobile, ready for instant advance or retreat. All
that was “fixed” in Korea were the mountains, though some got
reshaped by the bombing and artillery.
We first met in a radio company operating in the rice paddies
of Bupyong. Irv and I were both from Brooklyn, a tie that binds.
Peckler was a spicy chap with a warm heart, getting along with
everybody, natives included. If captured, he would have contrived
a clever way of getting out of any prison camp, I’m sure.
Home from Korea, over half a century ago, the two of us
remained ignorant of each other’s whereabouts until 2009. That
is when Irv stumbled upon a memoir posted on a Korean War
website by a guy named Anthony J. DeBlasi. The discovery fired
a blow that knocked the wall out between us. As with all buddies
who reconnect after many years, life stories rushed out to one
another like water through a broken dam.
How this came about is worth telling. In an e-mail to the website
manager, Peckler wrote: “I was told that if I ‘Googled‘ my
name, something might come up on the internet. Well, I did, and
much to my amazement, one of your members had written about
his experiences in Korea, and mentioned my name a few
times...on your website...The author is Anthony J. DeBlasi. I
remember him well - we were in the same outfit and in the same
hut #4 in Bupyong. If he still has a pulse, could you forward my
E-mail address to him.” The rest is pleasant history.
The moral to the story is that if someone has mentioned your
name in any text on the Internet, asking Google for possible links
to your name might yield a similar wonderful result. You never
know who in your outfit with a “literary bent” may have mentioned
your name in some Internet entry.
Anthony J. DeBlasi, 455 Shady Nook Rd
West Newfield, ME 04095, tonyjdb@psouth.net
Tootsie Rolls
Do you remember all the Tootsie Rolls that were dropped
by parachute? Did you know why?
The modest Tootsie Roll has played a significant “roll” in
the U.S. military history, having been included in armed forces
rations since the days of World War I. Over the years, care
packages assembled by community organizations have
shipped countless additional Tootsie Rolls to soldiers overseas.
Known as a source of quick energy, the candy became highly
valued by the troops for its ability to withstand severe
weather conditions. In Operation Desert Storm, for example,
soldiers serving in Saudi Arabia reported that Tootsie Rolls
were the only chocolate candy able to survive the extreme heat
without melting or crystallizing.
Tootsie Roll Industries has received
numerous testimonials of how
Tootsie Rolls have actually helped
save the lives of service personnel
who were near starvation.
Forty years earlier,
U.S. soldiers in Korea
found that Tootsie
Rolls were the only
food they could thaw
during temperatures of
-30° below zero. In
1950, the radio code
word for 60 MM mortar
ammunition was “Tootsie Roll.” To prevent the enemy
from learning that ammunition was running low, American
troops battling in the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea would
radio, “We need more Tootsie Rolls.”
One such transmission was translated verbatim by the
radioman at the airstrip. When the next airdrop was made,
parachute packs floated down—loaded with Tootsie Rolls. The
besieged Marines, their rations frozen solid, made the best of
the situation. They tucked away Tootsie Rolls in their clothes,
where they remained soft enough to eat.
Tootsie Roll Industries has received numerous testimonials
of how Tootsie Rolls have actually helped save the lives of
service personnel who were near starvation. One Chosin Few
Marine wrote, “By and large, Tootsie Rolls were our main diet
while fighting our way out of the Reservoir. You can bet there
were literally thousands of Tootsie Roll wrappers scattered
over North Korea. No doubt it made a nice change from
Spam.”
Edward M. Szymciak, 21664 Boston Road
Strongsville, OH 44149-6506, (440) 238-2173
EDITOR’S NOTE: Edward Szymciak served with E Co., 2nd
Bn., 7th Reg., 1 Marine Div. during the Chosin Reservoir
Campaign.
Visit the Korean War Veterans Association Website:
www.KWVA.org
59
The Graybeards
January – February 2010