The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

And still more on pg 40 ➤
The Flight Nurse
checks each patients
name, rank, diagnosis
and condition when
he is loaded aboard
the plane.
First Lt. Janice Feagin
(left) and First Lt.
Lillian Kinkella of
Richmond, CA, both
Flight Nurses with the
Far East Air Forces,
warm their toes shortly
before the last
plane full of wounded
American soldiers
departed. Pyongyang
was abandoned to the
hordes of communists.
Prisoners of War wait
in the cold for aerial
transportation. There
were not enough litters
to go around.
American resourcefulness
in the absence
of conventual transportation,
these GI’s
use oxen to carry cartons
of food to nearby
units.
HISTORY OF 801 M.A.E.S.
1. - May 1942 38th Medical Air Ambulance Squadron
trained at Ft. Benning, Ga. 2. - Feb. 12, 1943. Named
801st M.A.E.S. Tontouta, New Caledonia Capt. James
E. Crane. 3. - In 1944 Moved to Guadalcanal,
Operated Evac 1944-1945, Tacloban; Biak; Leyte;
Morotair; Peleliu; Owi; Bougainville; Sansapor; Munda;
Lavella. 4. - Sept. 1945, 2 flights 801st in Okinawa, 1
flight 801st in Tachikawa. 5. - June 1950 - Korean War
801st flew wounded out of Taejon using Ashiya as
base operations. 6. - July 1950 Maj. Charles Peterson
organized air evacuation operations from Taegu. 7. -
Aug. 1950 Col. Allen D. Smith becomes Flight Surgeon
of Combat Cargo Commander and Cmdr. of 801st.
*Who was Chief Nurse? Maj. Lucile Slattery. 8. - Sept.
14, 1950 All 801st flights moved to Tachikowa. 9. -
Sept. 1950 Nurses and Med Techs operate out of
Kimpo. A flight nurse and med tech died when a C-54
from Kimpo crash landed at night in Sea of Japan. Med
Tech died when a combat air transport C-46 crashed
attempting to land at an advanced field. 10. - Dec.
1950 - Chinese cross Yalu River. 11. - Dec. 5, 1950
801st evacuated a record high of 3,925 patients. In
Dec. alone, 28,140 were evacuated. June to Dec.
68,873 Chosin Reservoir - 801st receives Distinguish
Unit Citation and becomes first Air Force unit to receive
award. (with 315th Air Div.) 12. - Jan. 1951 Seoul, K-
16, and Kimpo fall to North Koreans. 801st uses fields
at Wonju, Chungju and Suwon. 13. - Feb. 1951 801st
forced to use old fields at Taejon and Taegu and Pusan.
14. - Feb.-March 1951 Chinese begin to withdraw to
38th parallel. Kimpo, K-16, K-51, K52 become available
to 801st Feb., March, and April. 15. - Summer
and Fall 1951, Eighth Army and 315 Air Div. organize
coordinated evacuation efforts within Korea and Japan.
Major Maynard Tinkham, Capt. Dottie Roche, Major
Norman Twigger - Surgeon Ashiya, Capt. Esther Taylor.
16. - 19 Jan. 1952 Lt. Col. Jesse Grace becomes
315th Surgeon and 801st Commander. Sgt. Leon
Longley, Sgt. Wayne Simcox, and Sgt. Carl Bradley.
Lts. Ken Hester and Mary Lou Weiss get married. 17.
- Jan. 1952 Globemaster C-124 introduced to replace
C-54 and C-119 (Box Car) 18. Sept. 1952
Globemaster lands at Tachikowa and on to Kimpo for
test flight. Returns to Tachi’ with 127 Patients. 19. -
1952 and early 1953 routine flights to remote fields if
you want to call them routine!! 20. - Dec. 22, 1952 Lt.
Margaret Perry, Lt. Virgina McClure and Sgt. Francis
Marstiller die after Royal Hellenic AF C-47 collides with
jet at Suwon airfield. 21. - April 21 - May 3, 1953
“Little Switch” with a C-124 Globemaster. Gen
McCarty, Col Grace, Med Techs? 22. - May 1953
Chinese resume attack on ROK Units. 801st evacuates
over 1,881 patients in one day. The highest total in one
day since Dec. 1950. One C-124 carried 419 patients
in a single 24-hour period. 23. - June 18, 1953 801st
M.A.E.S. becomes 6481st M.A.E. Group. 24. - July
27, 1953 Korean Armistice 25. - Aug. 1953 “Operation
Big Switch”
January/February, 2004 Page 35