Veterans Magazine 2021 - The War in Korea

Willy Hampton
U.S. Army
By: Tyler Meister
After changing his mind, Hampton was drafted into the
Army, and served in active duty during the remainder of the
Korean War.
After receiving his notice, Hampton was processed in
Columbus, Georgia and was subsequently sent to Fort
Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina for his 14-week
infantry-training period. After training further in Albany,
Georgia, he was processed once again in Seattle, and then
sent to Japan as a member of the 1st Calvary Division.
Hampton arrived in Japan by plane, and upon arriving, was
reassigned to the Signal Corp. For the remainder of the war,
he provided essential telephone communications to the
ever-moving division rear, stringing wiring on high poles and
hooking in telephones. Hampton even took part in laying “the
Manchurian cable” and communications wire that stretches
from the United States over to Korea. For that, Hampton and
his crew received a special citation from Syngham Rhee, the
first president of South Korea.
As Hampton described it, he received three Bronze Service
Stars and a Korean Service Medal “for being where [he] was,
when [he] was.”
Willy Hampton didn’t originally intend to be in the United
States Army. He initially enlisted in the Navy; however, the
thought of being put in a submarine made him change his
mind before being sworn in.
“I got to thinking that at my height, they may put me in a
submarine. I changed my mind and they came out to pay me
a visit—two SPs did—and I said, ‘No I’m not going, I haven’t
been sworn in.’ they accepted that.” Only a week later,
Hampton received a draft notice for the Army. “I imagine the
Navy helped it along,” Hampton said with a laugh.
Hampton was born and raised in Pelham, Georgia. In
1951, at the age of 20, Hampton enlisted with the Navy.
Upon being discharged, Hampton took a ship back to the
United States that was hit by a typhoon, a boat ride he calls
a “trip from hell.” Finally, back in the states, Hampton took
a plane to further his trip home, but while over Montana,
the engine caught fire and the plane crash-landed in Miles
City. “I had a hell of a time getting back home,” Hampton
said, laughing.
But finally making it home made the travel worth its trouble.
Hampton stated, “I was glad to help out; there was a lot of
poor guys who didn’t make it back home.” Nearly 40,000
Americans died in action in Korea. Hampton added that
coming home made him “very appreciative of being in a
country that’s free.”
Hampton served two years on active duty. He retired from
active duty as a corporal and married soon after. The happy
couple moved to Atlanta where Hampton went to school,
and then eventually found a job. Now, at the healthy age of
92, with children and grandchildren all around, Hampton has
retired to Tallahassee, Florida and has been married to his
wife for 67 years.
November 2021
The WAR in KOREA
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