| THE KOREAN ADVENTURE Part Two: an excerpt from the war diary of Jack Morris, Sgt., AF19328825 This second segment from Morris' war diary focuses on sickness, the volunteer support between the Army and the Air Force, and the UN Counteroffensive, 1950-51. |
 Near Taegu |
Back: Part 1Through all of this dangerous and nerve-wracking activity Cpl. Jim Welk kept his energy level at a peak and, as usual was the center of much of our social activity. In spite of the long work shifts, worsening weather, bad food, and the frequent sicknesses experienced by most, he and I remained close. Jim lost some weight and his face became skeletal and his lips thinned. He wasn't alone with the weight problem, however, as I, too, began to lose my fat gained months earlier in Fukuoka. Dysentery became a major problem for me and several doctors advised I would be shipped out for treatment if I didn't improve. They gave me medicines and I took them religiously until the problem subsided.
Because of the school house fire that destroyed our lab, (read Part One) we moved to the air base outside Taegu (K-2). Our encampment was on a slight rise of land that allowed us to see the 5th Air Force's airfield below and the hills that surrounded our base. The runways were cluttered with all sorts of vintage aircraft, trucks and armored vehicles--and chaos seemed to reign as far as the eye could see.
The aircraft of the day included World War II types composed of P-51s, B-26s, B-25s, C-47s, and the latest fighter aircraft, the F-80s. Beside the runways were stacks of canvas-covered boxes of equipment and supplies. Men in fatigues moved in and about them performing day and night tasks.
Beyond my view of K-2 was the rambling city of Taegu. Five miles beyond Taegu sat the entrenched cream of the North Korean Army halted only because they faced a stand-and-fight American 8th Army. I didn't know it at the time but K-2 was in great jeopardy and would not have survived had any part of the 8th retreated. Taegu was North Korea's only block between them and Pusan at the Southern tip of South Korea. Taegu and K-2 had to fall if the North was to claim the entire Korean peninsula.
Bad news and rumors reached the men at the photo sinks and printers every hour; most expected the 363rd to be returned to Fukuoka, Japan. I was not, at the time, totally confident we would win or that Korea was worth winning in the first place. But it was my war (my only war) and I was determined to do my share and to enjoy the war at the same time--if at all possible.
General MacArthur, while relying on the 363rd's aerial photos of the beaches near Seoul, turned the war around with the Inchon Landing in mid-September. At that time, the Navy left Japan carrying with it thousands of Marines and supplies. At the same time, the 8th Army and other UN Forces hit the North Koreans hard in the midlands to distract them from MacArthur's real objective: Inchon. History shows it went well and many of the aerial pictures we processed at the time depicted troop and equipment movements on both sides. It was my first experience with raw intelligence and, at the time, I sadly lacked the training and skills to recognize its full value.
Waegwan - A Trip To The Front
To the West of Taegu was the single line railroad linking Taegu with Taejon and to Seoul. The small town of Waegwan rested on this rail and it was the final halting position of the North Korean Army. In October, with the push of I Corps during the Inchon counter-offensive, the North Koreans put up a strong fight before leaving Waegwan forever. When they had been pushed several miles, I Corps requested volunteers from Taegu to operate their supply trucks. Corporal Charlie Veltsos ( Massachusetts) and I volunteered thinking we would be inside and warm while driving trucks. Instead, the supply officer put us on the cab tops where they had installed 30 caliber machine guns. We had volunteered to ride shotgun into a hot war zone.
An Army sergeant showed each of us how to set the weapons for firing and then moved on down the line of trucks. I looked my "piece" over carefully and moved it about pointing it here and there while we sat on the Taegu Street. I could almost hear Charlie Veltsos' pretended staccato gunfire in the background.
I distinctly recall our long line of trucks were loaded with artillery shells in long painted boxes. We moved in single file and headed Northwest out of the city. Within minutes, I was fighting the cold, my nose ran and tears streaked my eyes as I blinked before the Korean wind. American and Republic of Korea tanks and trucks littered the roadside as we made our way through otherwise barren hills. After eight or so miles on a rutted road we came across the first burial details scouring the hillsides. Further on, we witnessed the jagged outlines of small farm buildings. Beyond them, small groups of American soldiers sat waiting for directions.
Our trucks paused near a large group of seated North Korean prisoners of war (about 5,000) and, beside them, fifty or so North Korean nurses. They huddled together behind a half dozen South Korean soldiers with rifles and fixed bayonets.
The day had become warmer by the time we backed the trucks into an offloading compound. Prisoners came forward and began transfering the shell boxes to a bed of wood planks. As I climbed down through the truck cab and onto the dirt road, I found Veltsos among our volunteers. Like mine, his face was streaked and dirty and we congratulated each other for having survived one half of the ordeal.
North Korean Army -POW
North Korean Nurses POW
Charlie was the first to spot the towering pile of enemy weapons and waved me to join him for a close examination. An Army MP, on guard there, allowed us to enter the barbed wire enclosure and told us to take what we wished. Charlie stepped inside and walked around the pile of wooden handles, black barrels, clips, loose ammo, and bayonets. Occasionally, an automatic weapon protruded but otherwise the weapons appeared to be the work of one poor craftsman; all crudely done. Charlie spotted the genuine German 9mm Luger and I was the first to reach it. It had been owned by a high officer judging by his quality and condition. The rules of war prevailed as I slipped the piece under my heavy jacket and avoided Charlie for the rest of the day.
Charlie and I spent the mid-day hours at Waegwan staying close by waiting for the convoy to reassemble. At dusk, we climbed into our gun ports for the cold hard drive back to the labs of the 363rd RTS.
Interdiction
NK Tank - Killed
--------------------
Jack Morris
Part 1 | Top | Next: Part 3 | Part 4 | Recollections
|
| |
|
|
