(5 Dec 1999) Wow, this one will take a while and I'm not in the mood for war stories; but, I shall return to make entries from time to time. Check it out.

Meanwhile, if you are interested in knowing more about the details of the Korean War, read John Toland's "In Mortal Combat Korea, 1950-1953"? Pages 539-540 talk about the day I remember most. The rest may come later.

(15 Jan 2001) More than a year later I got the wherewithal to scan and publish (i. e., steal) the materials of more accomplished writers. So, I have now quoted the page plus that I wanted you to read, and the quote is linked to below in the paragraph entitled "Near and on top of old Kelly".

Time Out: (12 Dec 2000) After making only "once in a while" entries on this page over the past year (Time goes fast when you're having fun.), I finally got on the ball and started a page where Korean War Veterans of a certain ilk may post their stories and be able to contact others with the same general experiences. Guests are welcome and the veteran's entries are coming in, so be sure to visit the Imjin Buddy Bunker. There will be an easy way back.

Another time out: (29 Dec 2000) I need to tell you now that you may be in the Imjin Bunker Buddy Map and Photo Album when you go to any of the map or photo links on this page; but, don't worry! There'll be an easy and quick way to return to where you left off here, or else to go to whither your fancy takes you. To get back here, just click on the 3rd Division link at the bottom of the page.

The patch connection:

(16 Dec 1999) The relevance of the image link on my home page is that, being in the 4th Squad of the 2nd Platoon of Company A of the 15th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division, I wore the blue and white striped division patch from the time I joined my unit on the MLR (main line of resistance) in Korea (December of 1951) until I was turned loose from the U.S. Army (December of 1952) to await formal discharge from active service early in 1953. Its strange, but I have always noticed the blue and white patch when it showed up in a war movie, especially when that patch was worn by Audie Murphy (Co. B -15th Inf. Reg.) in the biographical movie To Hell and Back. In basic training, I suffered embarrassment by wearing the screaming eagle of the 101st Airborne Division (and blousing my boots) whenever I went on leave from Fort Breckenridge, Henderson, Kentucky, to the fun and games of Evansville, Indiana, where I worried about some real paratrooper veteran viewing, with much askance no doubt, my (unearned) adornment.

Smart(?) 1951 trade, school for draft:

Liberty ship going west to the east:

Army assigns in mysterious ways:

Christmas Eve and Day, 1951:

My Gal Nori:

(29 Dec 2000) More of this story later, but now I want to let you see a photographic panorama view of Nori, Able Company's main outpost for much of the first half of 1952. To take a peek at the photo and read some descriptive comments, click on Outpost Nori.

(08 Jan 2000) If you like maps better than photos, or even if you don't, here are the links to two maps of the Nori area. The first is a topographical map which was carried, mostly in the winter of 1951-1952, by the Able Company Commander - Captain Pearson's Map. The other is a handmade map I drew in early 1952 - Corporal Key's Map.

Like a ROK replacements:

(09 Feb 2000) Learn more about our ROK and other reinforcements later (here). But for now, you may view this 1952 photo of what I always think of as Two ROKs and a Pebble.

(19Mar 2000) For a view of the Pebble and some other soldiers faithfully following an order to be at ease (and construing the order liberally) you may peek at some Soldiers At Ease.

(03 Jan 2001) After nearly a year of R&R, I am back to link you to another 1952 photo that I call Some of the Gang.

(09 Dec 2001) Well, nearly another year has gone by while I was digging on the Injin Buddy Bunker. I came back to give you a link to an old photo of my entire company - Able in June of 1952.

All's quiet along the Imjin:

(31 Oct 2002) There will be more here later but, for right now, here is a link to the Able on the Imjin page where you can see five photos of, and read some tales about, life along the Imjin in the winter of 1951-1952 and the early spring of 1952.

My first trip to Breadloaf:

Guarding POWs and vice versa:

(06 Nov 2000) I'm making this entry today only to remember that this morning's paper told me that Jimmie Davis (the "singing governor" of Louisiana) died yesterday at the reputed age of one hundred and one. Why do I need to remember that? I want to tell you later (when I come back to this page) about hearing his best known song, You Are My Sunshine, while the POW guarding was going in April and May of 1952. Maybe I'll also mention the circumstances of hearing his next best known song, It Makes No Difference Now, on December 25, 1952, my first full day with the dear old 4th Squad.

(27 Feb 2001) I finally told the story of the POW camp on a page with a photo of a compound for which I was a guard for many an hour. I hope you have time to read the tales told at The POW (and how!) Place .

A historical reference:

(28 Jan 2000) Here is an excerpt from the Society of the 3rd Division (link below) history page:

"On July 1, the 3rd Division returned once again to the front for patrolling operations. On July 6th, one of the 3rd Division's outposts was attacked by Chinese forces but the attack was repulsed. For the rest of July, the 3rd Division engaged the enemy on a regular basis. One 3rd Division outpost was overrun by the Chinese but was retaken the next day. Things quieted down during the rains of August and September, but at the end of September, the Chinese struck again. After brutal hand-to-hand fighting, the Chinese succeeded in capturing two 3rd Division outposts. Despite numerous counter-attacks, the outposts could not be retaken. On September 30, the 3rd Division was relieved by a Korean Division and moved into Army reserve."

That is written about 1952 and jives with my recollections; and, I am certain that our OP Kelly is the outpost which it cites as being overrun and retaken the next day, July 31, 1952, a date which to me lives in infamy.

Near and on top of old Kelly:

(25 Jun 2000) On this day, the 50th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, I am posting a recent photo of the Outpost Kelly area. The story that goes with it, including how it became a part of North Korea, will be told later.

(15 Jan 2001) For now, you may read the page plus from John Toland's book that I mentioned in the first paragraph on this page. Described there are the events surrounding Kelly on 31 Jul 1952, but as seen higher up in the peerage rankings than the ranks of me and the guys I was with; the quotes are on the page I call Of Cabbages and Kings.

Guarding POWs and vice versa:

(06 Nov 2000) I'm making this entry today only to remember that this morning's paper told me that Jimmie Davis (the "singing governor" of Louisiana) died yesterday at the reputed age of one hundred and one. Why do I need to remember that? I want to tell you later (when I come back to this page) about hearing his best known song, You Are My Sunshine, while the POW guarding was going in April and May of 1952. Maybe I'll also mention the circumstances of hearing his next best known song, It Makes No Difference Now, on December 25, 1952, my first full day with the dear old 4th Squad.

(27 Feb 2001) I finally told the story of the POW camp on a page with a photo of a compound for which I was a guard for many an hour. I hope you have time to read the tales told at The POW (and how!) Place .

Fight for a plot of ground:

(26 Nov 2000) Only very rarely can I think of Outpost Kelly (and I think of it more often now than I used to) without thinking of these lines from Hamlet:

"Witness this army of such mass and charge ......
Exposing what is mortal and unsure
To all that fortune, death and danger dare,
Even for an egg-shell .............. I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That, for a fantasy and trick of fame,
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain ...... "

Rest, recreation, and return:

(16 Feb 2001) On 04 Aug 1952, after the longest and hardest four days of my life, I was whisked away for five days of fun and games in Japan. I have posted two versions of that oriental adventure. The first one is named "My R&R - Version for Mother" which is linked to from the (nearly) true version named My Rest and Recreation. The two pages have the story, a photo, two letters, some nostalgic background music, and links back to here or elsewhere. The "return" part will come later.

A welcome lull:

Sayonara, Rhee Dong Kuhn:

Goodbye Army, and thanks:

Some more links (21 Mar 2000):

KWP Memorials to (Gerald) Dudley Snyder

50th Anniversary of the Korean War 1950-1953

Korean War Project (find a Korean War Veteran)

Korean War Veterans Memorial - Washington, D C

Society of the 3rd Division (with history & guestbook)

15th Infantry Regiment Association

Military Connections (PlanetAlumni military site)

Korean War Veterans National Museum & Library

Once More Into The Fire (another soldier's experiences)

Audie L. Murphy (Co B - 15th Inf Rgt) Memorial Website

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