Tomorrow Magazine Veterans Day Special Issue, 2003

As my confidence grew, I risked more.
W
Paul Hasenauer as told
to Molly Rose Teuke
When I was a boy I had a fear of
heights. By the time I first enlisted, in
1980, I could climb a ladder. But I
wasn’t going to be airborne — that
was for people bigger and better than
me. Then a ranger friend of mine said,
“Paul, it’s not wrong to be afraid; it’s
wrong when you let your fears stop
you from what you know you need to
do.” So many times in my life, I’ve
thought about that.
I gradually gravitated toward
more specialized units, and trained
in jungle school, Special Forces survival
school, and some things I’d
rather not disclose. As my confidence
grew, I risked more.
When it comes to heights, there’s a
psychological point, and that’s 33 feet.
If you can do it at 33 feet, you can do
anything. Eventually, you get up there
and then you’re not afraid anymore.
I had an association with Special
Forces. I served in Korea at Panmunjom,
the 38th parallel. Our mission
was to protect the DMZ [demilitarized
zone]. Officially, we were a joint
security force under the United
Nations Military Armistice Command.
In order to get into a real-world mission
at that time, you had to keep volunteering
and moving up. The Army
said to me, “Kid, we can’t do it for
you, but we can do it with you.” ✮
June 30, 1950. President
Truman orders ground forces
into Korea and sends Air
Force to bomb North Korea.
1950–1954. Chrysler produces 28,878 tanks for the war effort,
unveiling the M-48 “Patton” tank in 1952 at the tank plant in
Newark, Del. Chrysler also produces trucks, aircraft and missile
components, and other items for the Korean War effort.
Paul Hasenauer,
U.S. Army, 1980–1986
Sergeant
Mechanic/Driver, 3rd Shift Union Steward
Arizona Proving Grounds
UAW Local 509
Sept. 27, 1950.
U.S. establishes a Military Assistance
Advisory Group in South Vietnam
to support the French.
Korea cont.
1951
1951. Chrysler
unveils the HEMI
V8 engine.
April 11, 1951. General
Douglas MacArthur recalled
from Korea.
July 1951. International UAW
opens new headquarters at
Detroit’s Solidarity House.
MICHAEL MERTZ
12 www.uawdcx.com