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My wife bought her Dad a book called “A Father’s Legacy” which has blank pages for Fathers to write thoughts on memories of various activities that affected their own lives. One page asked the question, “If you were in the Armed Forces, how did your service affect your life?”

He entered the Korean war as an infantryman and carried a Browning Automatic Rifle.
Later after being in Korea for a while, he volunteered to serve as a Combat Medic.
I can’t even imagine the horrors of what he saw and what he had to do in performing his duty in Korea. He wouldn’t talk about it at all until he neared death.
When he started talking to me about the War during his last two years he told me that he killed so many people in combat that he couldn’t even remember how many. That was as a 17-18 year old in Korea.

He served 27 years in the Army and retired as a Sergeant Major

Here’s what he wrote:

“I enlisted in the Army in August 1950 at Whitehall Street NYC.
I was sworn in at 17 years old.
I was sent to Ft. Dix New Jersey for basic training. Then to Ft. Meade Maryland for advance training. Then on to Virginia.

I flew to California and on to a troop transport ship for 17 days to Japan. 2 days after getting there we were on another ship headed to Korea.
South Korea, where war had broken out. That was January 1951.

It was “Cold as Hell.” Then 14 months of nonstop combat.

Then back to Japan. Tokyo Japan and back on a ship again 16 days to California and on to Edwards Massachusetts.
Then I was sent to West Point to train Cadets.

I was married to Mom so I put in for a transfer to Ft. Jay Governor’s Island New York Hospital. Then I transferred to Ft. Wadsworth Staten Island. I worked in the dispensary there.
It was about 5 miles from our house in Staten Island.

Then I got out of active duty and went into the Reserve in 1954.

The War affected all of our lives because everyone I knew drank very heavily when we came back. I did too. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.
Drinking was trouble.”

Love Dad