Newsletter November 11 2002

Korean War Project
P.O. Box 180190
Dallas, TX 75218-0190
214-320-0342

Member and Sponsor Last Name Search

Table of Contents

1. Day of Remembrance - Veterans Day
2. Excerpts of Recollections - Jack Morris, 363rd RTS USAF
3. "Come on soldier, you go first." - Ted Hofsiss, 5th Cav Rgt
4. Dear Member of the U.S. Military
5. Korean War Children's Memorial
6. DPMO | CILHI and Chosin Reservoir update
7. Membership Drive

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1. Day of Remembrance - Veterans Day
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This Veterans Day, we wish to re-emphasize a tribute to
those who served in Korea. US Forces were stationed in
Korea at the end of World War II, remaining there until
1949. Many of those servicemen moved to bases in Japan, Hawaii and
Okinawa and were directly involved in the outbreak of war on the
Peninsula on June 25th 1950.

Large numbers of men and women who were released from duty
after WWII were called up for the new fight in South Korea.
Many more volunteered or were drafted as the war progressed.

Military personnel from 23 countries served, bled and died
helping to stem the tide of Communist aggression in the
South. Those military persons were assisted by Korean
civilians who performed many valuable often dangerous tasks in
the war effort.

After the truce on July 27th 1953, a peace-keeping role for
the assembled forces became the military task. (We call this
the DMZ War.) The role for peace-keeping became the
primary responsibility of the ROK and the United States.

Decades have passed and the danger on the Peninsula
continues as evidenced by the incidents published on the
major news media.

Sadly, the efforts of those who served from 1950-53 and
later continue to be forgotten.

Men and women who served in both WWII and Korea, or Korea
and Vietnam, or all three, plus their families do not forget. The
media and politicians all too often lapse in honoring the
dedication of those who answered the call.

Thousands continue to serve in Korea, manning outposts and
assisting the ROK to hone military skills to meet the
challenge.

Let us all Remember - Freedom is not Free!

The Korean War Project; Jan Curran, Hal Barker and Ted
Barker wish to thank those veterans for their service to a
small country in need, so far away.

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2. Excerpts of Recollections - Jack Morris 363rd RTS USAF
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THE KOREAN ADVENTURE - Part Four:

An excerpt from the war diary of Jack Morris, Sgt.,
AF19328825 - This last segment from Morris' diary concludes his
story in late 1951 and early 1952. He talks about dabbling in the
Inchon black-market and his return home by troop ship.
---
On the 30th of December, 1951, SP Order #287 reached the PIO
office and was posted on the hut's tiny bulletin board. It
said that the below named personnel were being rotated from
the 5th Air Force, Korea and transferred to a receiving area
in California. We were to leave Japan by ship on the 13th of
January, 1952 and would arrive in San Francisco on or about
the 29th of the same month.

I was again with friend, Jim Welk, for another epic event
and this time on the SS J.C. Breckinridge. It left Yokohama
right on schedule but instead of going straight across the
Pacific as we thought it surely would, it headed south to
Okinawa. It was announced it was scheduled to pick up
several hundred metal caskets of our war dead.

From San Francisco, I was dispatched to Wichita, Kansas and
to a newly opened airbase. I still had about two months to
go on my four year service and had decided to make the most
of my time remaining before hanging up my uniform. After
all, I was still in a Public Information Office and writing
stories; life was going to be easy and very uncomplicated, I
was certain.

As fortune would have it, I chanced to see a pretty blonde
girl with blue eyes working for the Wichita City Airport
manager in the next office to mine and my two months became
a period of my life I shall never forget. Complications set
in immediately and everything I did or thought about was
dominated by the blonde with the blue eyes. I couldn't sleep
and my eating habits changed, too. The hardness that war had
driven into me slid away like so much jelly. I was in love.

But then, she is yet another story. It shall suffice to end
my Korean experience by writing I was honorably discharged
on the 3rd of June, 1952 and married the former Ms Freda
Marie Simon on the 5th.

Editor's note: Be sure to see our Recollections section of
the site at:
https://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/frontline.htm

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3."Come on soldier, you go first."-Ted Hofsiss, 5th Cav Rgt
==========================================================

Early in 1996, Hal and Ted got a flurry of email from a
Granbury, TX, vet, Ted Hofsiss. The email turned into a
long series of "Recollections" of his wartime experience.

Ted wrote to combat his chronic pain from his wounds, pain
which continues to this day.

Originally featured on the KWP Recollections area as "Diary
from the War Zone - King Company", the collection received
so much attention on the Internet that Mr. Hofsiss published
them as a book.

The book is now called, "Waiting For The Blessed Light of
Dawn", a Diary of The Korean War. (The KWP removed the
original 19 chapters from the site to ensure that the online
version would not compete with the book.)

A particular section that hammers home the impact of a
returning vet follows:

Dreams - May 19, 1996 0556

I woke up a few minutes ago, from a dream that will not let
me return to a peaceful slumber. Part of it is fact from a
past almost 45 years distant from this warm windy morning,
with my loyal and constant wife beside me in my bed and the
wind chimes on the porch singing an unsuccessful lullaby. I
was at the bus station in San Antonio, just as I had been in
mid-July, 1951. I was about to board the bus for Granbury.
Going home!

I stood as tall as I could on my crutches. My khakis were
clean and starched. The crease in my trousers, perfect. I
wore my overseas cap at the usual jaunty angle. My ribbons
and CIB made a splash of color over my left shirt pocket.

I didn't feel very jaunty. I had gained back most of my
normal weight, but I was already tired, and my journey back
to life had only begun. My leg hurt, even as it hurts now,
having wakened me for the fourth time this night. I was an
old man then, even as I am old now.

The bus driver stepped down from his seat and prepared to
receive tickets from the passengers. They pushed and crowded
forward. Each one wanting what they thought would be the
best seat. I moved backward along the side of the bus. I was
unsure of my balance on my crutches and was wildly afraid of
falling.

As the passengers pushed forward, the bus driver looked up.
All he could see was my head and the Infantry Blue piping on
my cap. He hadn't taken any tickets or allowed anyone to
board the bus.He was neither rough nor gentle as he raised
his hands to push his way through the crowd to stand in
front of me. I remember him as a big man, but that may be
because I needed a big man at that moment.

He barely smiled as he said, "Come on soldier, you go
first."

I was embarrassed and relieved. And I was sure I wouldn't
fall on the bus steps with the driver behind me. A girl soon
came and sat beside me. I don't know her age; nine, maybe
ten. She looked up at me with eyes of pure innocence. "What
are those?"

I was embarrassed again, but happy that she had noticed
them.

I began a slow whispered litany. "This is the Korean
Campaign Ribbon. The stars are for each battle we fought.
This one is from the president of South Korea, to thank us
for coming to his country to help them fight the war. That's
the ribbon for the Purple Heart. I was wounded and was given
a medal for it."

"Is that why you're on crutches?"

"Yes. This is the CIB; The Combat Infantry Badge. This is
given only to an infantryman who fights in the war."

My dream ended there, in a hot bus traveling north to the
arms of the woman I loved; who suffered as much as I did and
suffers with me still.

The bus, the uncaring passengers, and the wonderful man, the
bus driver were real. The curious little girl, was my dream.
A dream that probably wouldn't have wakened me this warm,
windy morning if our country had said what a bus driver and
a little girl in my dream said.

"Come on soldier, you go first." "What are those?"

TED HOFSISS tedhof@nortexinfo.net

RoadRunner Publishing
Rt 1 Box 67
Forestburg, TX 76239-9717

See our Bookstore at:
https://www.koreanwar.org/html/bookstore.html

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4. Dear member of the U.S. military
==========================================================

Jan Curran, our California KWP Board Member, pointed out a
link to send a Thank You to US Servicemen and Women. Several
others have mentioned wanting to do just this. Give it a
try!

https://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html

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5. Korean War Children's Memorial
==========================================================

George Drake, a Korean War Veteran has a mission to build a
fitting Memorial to the children of Korea. Mr. Drake has
been at this for years.

He writes: View our web site with hundreds of articles about
the GIs and the kids: https://www.koreanchildren.org


George F. Drake, Ph.D., Korean War Veteran
Coordinator, Korean War Children's Memorial
1421 Cornwall Ave. #B, Bellingham, WA 98225

Tel: 360-734-9757
E-mail: <gdrake@koreanchildren.org>

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7. DPMO | CILHI and Chosin Reservoir update
==========================================================

September of 2002 found teams from the Dpt. of Personnel
Missing and the Central Identification Laboratories (Hawaii)
in North Korea once again.

This is an ongoing task that we have reported about for
several years now via the web site pages and the newsletter.

Jan, Hal and I would like to thank the men and women of the
combined task force for the diligent and often dangerous
work performed. More thanks are due for the years of effort
spent by veterans and the families of those still missing.

Remains continue to be found in far Northwestern North Korea
at Unsan, the Chongchong River basin and Kunu-ri areas.

News media articles and press releases from the Dpt. of
Defense continue to report progress in this essential
program to find and identify remains of military personnel
who still are listed as unaccounted (or MIA).

On October 28th another 11 sets of remains were sent to
Hawaii for further identification work.

This year, General Raymond Davis, USMC Retired - Medal of
Honor; Harley Coon, Ex-POW and current President of the KWVA
- Korean War Veterans Association and Ms. Donna Knox of the
Alliance of Families went with the DPMO | CILHI team to the
Chosin Reservoir area in September.

Excerpt from DOD communication:

The Defense Department's Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel
Office negotiated terms with the North Koreans in June,
which led to the scheduling of three operations this year.

This repatriation marks the last of this year's operations.
Twenty-five individual joint operations have been
conducted since 1996 in North Korea, during which remains
believed to be those of at least 178 U.S. soldiers have been
recovered.Thirteen have been positively identified and
returned to their families for burial with military honors.Of the
88,000 U.S. service members missing in action from all
conflicts, more than 8,100 are from the Korean War.

No. 551-02
(703)697-5131(media)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 28, 2002
(703)428-0711(public/industry)

More about other forensic work at Horseshoe Ridge site of
heavy fighting in the spring of 1951 C/1/1 1 MARDIV, next
issue.

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8. Membership Drive
==========================================================

Please consider assisting the Korean War Project as you use
our pages. If you are new to the site, read our "About the
Project" to get an idea of who we are.

https://www.koreanwar.org/html/about_the_project.html

Do read our original mission in the "Non-Profit" section at:
https://www.koreanwar.org

We invite you to join up or renew as members, see below.
https://www.koreanwar.org/html/membership.html

Here is more info on current Member/Sponsors.

Members: https://www.koreanwar.org

Sponsors:


Thank you for making the Korean War Project a success!

Hal and Ted Barker
Korean War Project

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