Freedom Is Not Free - Korean War Veterans Association

May They Both Be At Peace
Helen Ludgate was the sister of a young
soldier reported missing in action. For
fifty-five years his fate was a mystery to her.
In the fall of 1951, a telegram arrived at
the Ludgate home in Minneapolis with the
news that (then) SSgt. Homer I. May who,
with his mother, made his home with his sister’s
family, was missing in action.
It was the kind of news every household
dreads when they have some one in service.
There had been a previous telegram the
spring before, when Homer had been
wounded, but he had recovered and returned
to duty with L Company, 3rd Battalion 17th
Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
The family feared the worst, but hoped
for word that Homer, a young man who had
already served with the Occupation Forces in
Korea during WWII, would be found.
At first the hope was that he was just separated
from his company. As time went by
that hope faded, but it was replaced with the
hope that he was being held prisoner. That
would be better than learning he was dead.
Surely, after the war, Homer would come
home and return to the University of
Minnesota, where he had been an education
major on the Dean’s list before re-enlisting.
During Operation Little Switch and
Operation Big Switch, the family gathered
around the radio to listen to the names of the
POWs who were being returned. Night after
night they listened, but Homer’s name was
never read.
After the war, Helen and her husband
made numerous trips around the country to
talk to men who had served with Homer.
Now it began to seem that not knowing
Members in the
Fred Hoon Reports For
Duty—56 Years Later
Some veterans never get military-oriented
duties get out of their blood.
Fred Hoon reported to the Air Crew
Survival Pool at the Cherry Point [NC]
Marine Air Base on 20 January. He is in
the Coast Guard Auxiliary as an air crew
member. It is not his first stint in the military.
In the fall of 1951, a telegram arrived at the Ludgate home in Minneapolis with
the news that (then) SSgt. Homer I. May who, with his mother, made his home
with his sister’s family, was missing in action.
Homer’s fate was more cruel than knowing
he was dead. Maybe someone who was in
that battle on Hill 851 would know what happened
to this much-loved young man.
The soldiers who knew Homer had only
good things to say about him, and were eager
to relate those things to Helen. Homer was
always one to look out for the under-dog, to
lend a helping hand and to do the job no one
else wanted to do. It seemed he did the same
in Korea, shouldering more than his share
and looking after others, according to the
men he served with. Homer had turned down
a job in headquarters to stay at the front with
his buddies. One of them said he would have
“given a million dollars for the opportunity to
go to the rear.” But to Homer, staying with
his buddies was important.
It was not surprising to hear these things,
but it did nothing to clear up the mystery of
Homer’s fate. On December 31, 1953, his
status was changed from Missing in Action
to Presumed Dead.
One day a letter arrived. Homer was
being awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross. On September 1, he had sent his platoon
to safety and acted with complete disregard
for his own safety and had single handedly
taken out several enemy bunkers. On
September 2, he was last seen in hand-tohand
combat when superior Chinese forces
swarmed over Hill 851 on Heartbreak Ridge.
There was a ceremony and family and
friends gathered to honor the missing soldier
He was in the 337
Air Sea Rescue
Squadron in Bermuda—
in 1950 and 1951. The
squadron had four B-17s, all in excellent
flying condition. The planes carried 32’
lifeboats under their bomb bays.
Talk about long times between assignments!
Reach Fred Hoon at 4359 Polly Gully
Ct SE, Southport, NC 28461-8522.
and wonder what his fate was. It seemed so
unfair that a young man of great promise had
his life cut short, with no opportunity to
make his mark or leave a legacy.
The years passed, but Homer was not forgotten.
Eventually a marker was placed in
Arlington Cemetery and Helen was able to
visit the spot. For her, it was some satisfaction,
but still there was the bitterness of the
mystery of Homer’s fate.
After more years there was a special program
for Korean War veterans, their families,
and the survivors of those no longer living;
the KIAs and the MIAs.
Helen, along with other family members,
attended the program, “Korea has Come to
You,” which was presented by the Korean
American Cultural Foundation in a town
near her home.
That night the veterans, their families, or
next of kin were entertained by young
Korean college students, talented in music,
dance and other arts. They were also presented
beautiful medallions, gifts from the
Korean people as a thank you for the service
and sacrifice of the veterans who had served
in that long ago and continuing war.
It was then that Helen and her family realized
that Homer had made his mark and did
have a legacy. It was the lives of these young
Koreans who were living in freedom and
prosperity that Homer and those like him,
living, dead, or whose fate was known only
to God, had made possible.
On August 22, 2006, Helen Ludgate left
this world for a better one and for her the
mystery of Homer’s fate has been cleared.
May they both be at peace.
President’s Note: Judith Knight A027975
and husband Larue M Knight R034212 are
members of Sergeant Harold D Adkison
Chapter 255, Department of South Carolina.
Judith is the sister of SFC Homer I. May,
MIA, and loving care-giver for her mother
for her last years.
Sergeant May’s picture and awards may be
viewed at The American Battle Monuments
site, The Korean War Veterans Honor Roll
http://www.abmc.gov/search/detail.php.
55
The Graybeards
March – April 2007