re: Who has family members who fought in the Korean War?

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Makes you wonder just how dynamic the human spirit is to see and live those kinds of things and still function in life knowing the horror you survived.

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It's interesting that some can cope with it and carry on as relatively normal and it completely consumes others.

Father-in-Law

My paternal grandfather served in WWII and Korea. US Navy MoMM3.

Ralph joined the Marine Reserve in 1949 in Chattanooga. From what he told me he was a replacement who dragged his sea bag up to the 7th Marines HQ just before the shite hit the fan.

A little doggeral:

"I hope to raise a family when this cruel war is through.

I hope to have a bouncing boy to tell my stories to.

But if some day when he grows up, he joins the Marine Reserve - I'll kick his arse from dawn to dusk 'cause that's what he'll deserve!"

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My deceased uncle was a jet engine mechanic

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One of the coolest things I've ever seen was watching an F-86 mock dogfight a Mig 15

father served in several theaters.
volunteer. 1936

India to China flying supplies in the 30's.
north africa
day raids over Italy. purple heart on the 26th mission.
volunteered to fly glider with 82nd airborne Normandy AM.
2 silver stars. a handful of bronze stars. a distinguished flying medal for normandy.
He retired after WWII.

drafted for Korea. lucky man. my grandmother, his mom, got a letter about a promotion. He never found out. he had the easiest safest assignment in the far east. Supervising repair and maintenance of B29's in the Philippines. then fly them to Korea.
only had to carry a sidearm in the PI a few days when the communists attacked the base. I was there.
when he got back to NJ, my grandmother told him he had some mail. I remember it like yesterday. he got an additional promotion and back pay out of it. if he had got that promotion while we were in the PI, no telling what his new assignment could have been.

He did another tour in Korea a few years after peace. Taught how to fly to Koreans.

Grandad:
Bataan Death March then Korea out of Barksdale.

My brother was there in 53-56. Also two cousins, an uncle and brother-in-law.

Uncle Bob!

The Korean winters could be 30-40 degrees below zero and it was that low in 1950. The Marines in First Mar Div. would wear long johns and two pair of trousers. They had field jackets and field jacket liners. Over that they had big fur lined parkas. I recently read a book that said these parkas came from the Navy. They really were not that good. The boots, as boots usually do, sucked. They were called Shoe-paks. They had a felt lining and if you worked up a sweat you could soon have some frozen feet as soon as you settled down.

All that said, the Chinese that came across the border had thin quilted uniforms and tennis shoes or sandals. In the winter of 1950 the Marines had trouble being 50% combat effective. The Chinese were almost 100% combat ineffective due to the cold. General Smith insisted on having a good logistical base before going very far north. This allowed the Marines, even in the most bitter cold, to bring their guys back off the line to ‘warming tents’. The Marines would come back to the tents maybe one hour in twenty four. They could adjust their gear, get warm and most importantly get a big stack of pancakes and syrup.

At the Reserve Center in Nashville this guy named Mr. Murphy would come by and just hang out; he was in the Marines for Korea, he wasn’t retired or anything. He just liked to hang out with Marines. Once he told me they were so low on ammo that they threw rocks at the Chinese. That is one of those “We’re not worthy” moments.