0:00-5:00 Samuel Norton
0:04-0:17 Interviewer: Today’s December 6th 2, 2004. We are on the Northern Michigan College Campus in Travers City, Michigan. Um. I’m interviewing Gene Dixon. Welcome Gene.
0:18-0:18 Gene: Thank You.
0:19-0:24 Interviewer: And we have camera person Adam Merpu?
0:25-0:25 Crew Man: Murball
0:25-0:34 Interviewer: Murball and Nick Blandon will be our recorder. Um, I’m the interviewer, my name is Jackie Green and welcome Gene.
0:34-0:34 Gene: Thank You.
0:34-0:50 Interviewer: Today. Uh… Gene was born December 10th 1929… and uh Gene what branch of service did you serve in?
0:50-0:52 Gene: In the United States Marine Corps
0:52-0:53 Interviewer: What was your rank?
0:53-1:09 Gene: I rose to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. I was selected for Master Sergeant, however, this required an additional two years, and I was ready to retire in 1966. So, I retired after 20 years of service and declined the promotion.
1:10-1:12 Interviewer: And, where did you serve?
1:13-1:34 Gene: Many places, I served in the United States in several posting stations throughout the United States. Uh, having been in the Marine Corps for 20 years, you would naturally be rotated around the country. I served in Korea, Japan, Okanoya, and in the Caribbean areas as far as overseas assignments.
1:35-1:37 Interviewer: Were you drafted, or did you enlist?
1:37-1:49 Gene: No, I enlisted at Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1946. At uh, I had just turned 17.
1:49-1:51 Interviewer: And why did you join?
1:52-2:32 Gene: Growing up, my growing up years was I was in high school. Uh, in the 1942 to 46 range, and that’s when World War Two was going on. I guess I was inspired by the service men and service women I was seeing… Uh, throughout the country during that time, and I guess I sort of decided that’s what I wanted to do. Additionally, my brother Merle enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 and served in uh, Guam and Hiroshima. He returned in 1945 and was discharged.
2:35- 2:37 Interviewer: Why did you pick the service branch you joined?
2:38- 3:00 Gene: I guess I had a flair for… good looking uniforms at the time. Uh, my high school teacher, when I told her that I was going to join the Marine Corps, it told me uh, said you couldn’t even get in the army. And that determined me more, made me more determined than ever. So, I was determined to get into the Marine Corps one way or another.
3:02- 3:04 Interviewer: Do you recall your first days in service?
3:05- 3:45 Gene: Yes, they were in boot camp when I arrived in San Diego about December the 23rd. Just by the way, that’s just a few days before Christmas. And uh, I was greeted by a Marine Sergeant which, to me, in my mind, was probably about seven feet tall. Uh, and he quickly… uh questioned me on my age, he asked me if I was 17 and if I was sure of it and I said Yeah. And that was the wrong thing to say because I learned right then you were teaching you were talking to a Marine Sergeant. You were talking to one that has graduated from boot camp. We recruits always addressed them as sir.
3:48- 3:54 Interviewer: Well, what did it feel like um, during your first days of service? What did it feel like?
3:54- 4:31 Gene: Being Christmas and everything probably things was ah a little lax at first for the Christmas holidays. However shortly after that, we would put in to a routine that would be the routine for the rest of our boot camp for the next eight weeks, it meant revelry at 5 o’clock in the morning, roll call immediately thereafter and you shaved whether you wanted a when you needed to be shaved or not and you shaved. And um, we grew into a routine that lights out at ten o’clock, no sl, no noise, and that’s the way that everyday went.
4:32- 4:36 Interviewer: Do you remember your instructors or any specific instructors?
4:36- 4:57 Gene: Yes, I re, I re, remember all three of them. Uh, they made an impression on the entire platoon. I would say probably when we graduated from boot camp, we all had a respect for them. Because, we knew they had all been gone through this boot camp, plus they had all been World War Two veterans.
4:59- 5:00 Interviewer: Well, how did you get through it?
20:01-25:00 Grace P.
Eugene: …problem there. And this is something that the United Nations, the American people, deserve to have done, the recovery of those remains.
Interviewer: Were you ever a prisoner of war?
Eugene: No, fortunately I was never close to being a prisoner of war. My marines did become prisoners of war, because they fought until they could fight no more.
Interviewer: Were you awarded any medals or citations?
Eugene: As a unit, we were awarded the “Combat Action Ribbon”, which shows that you were under combat action, that you received hostile…that you were subject to injury or being killed.
During our time our time in Korea, our unit received four Presidential Unit CItations from the President of the United States. We received a Korean Presidential Citation from the President of Korea. Plus five Combat Engagement Stars for combat engagement that I participated in during my year there.
Interviewer: Well how did you get those? You just told us how you got those.
Eugene: They were just given. You earned them and you were authorized to wear them, the ribbons and citations.
Interviewer: OK, thank you. I don’t know of your rank. Did you help with any of the planning? Or any of that kind of thing?
Eugene: No, Sergeant does not get in on the planning. It is usually left up to the staff officers. Each unit has what they call S1 Officer, which is personnel. S2 is intelligence. S3 is your operations, he is the one that runs it. And your S4 is your supply. Your commanding officer, your battalion officer, and the staff officers, they do the planning. However, for the most part, it is planned by higher headquarters. Usually by General MacArthur, at his headquarters, right on down through division headquarters, to the regiment, to the battalion, and it finally gets down to you. So in planning, no. You do the executing and you may have some knowledge of what you are going to, but it’s limited at my rank level.
Interviewer: Thank you. We are going to talk about life while you were in the service. First question is, how did you stay in touch with your family?
Eugene: During the war, it was by letter. I know today they have cell phones, they have email, they have computers, but we had none of that technology with us there, and it was by letter. We probably, only during my time in Korea, I’d hear several letters from my mother and father, from my sisters who would write to me, but this was the only communication you had with the people back home. You had no knowledge of what they were hearing about the war, and you had very little opportunity to write them and tell them what was happening. Many times you didn’t know what was happening, many times you were too busy occupied to take the time to write.
Interviewer: What was the food like?
Eugene: Food? It was sea rations for us. Except on special occasions, we had on Thanksgiving dinner, it was prepared and hot for us. But sea rations, I guess the best way to explain them was canned food, in cans. Some of it was frank and beans, meat and beans, spaghetti and meatballs, these were all in a can and you heated them up, and that’s what you eat. You had crackers with your sea rations. You had cocoa bars, it included a package of cigarettes for those that smoked. Chewing gum and few sanitary things that would come with the sea rations. That’s all well and good when you’re in warm climate, but when you’re in cold climate, 35 degrees below zero, getting that food thawed, it becomes burned….
30:01-35:00 Natiel Holiday
Interviewer: Was there something special that you did for good luck?
Eugene: No, I didn’t do anything. I would say this, uh, I wasn’t, a Christian at the time, I did pray to God to get me out of this and get me back to the states and I sort of promised Him if He did that part for me, I would do my part and put the rest of my life in His hands and try to live a Christian life and for any good luck charms…I don’t think we had any.
Interviewer: How did people entertain themselves?
Eugene: Well, when time permitted I remember a few of them struggled to carry a guitar along with them. They struggled to carry maybe a harmonica, and there would be, I remember country music playing when we’re in the areas that would allot it. If you were on the front line, this was not permitted but if you were in the rest areas, in the back, behind the lines, then you could, but this was entertainment or you might make up some silly games but there wasn’t much entertainment.
Interviewer: Um, well, which leads me to my next question, were there entertainers at all?
Eugene: There were entertainers that came to Korea but I never seen them. They never got to where I was, I understand Bob Hope was in North Korea but I never seen Bob Hope. He wasn’t in my area, um, but I’m sure the troops that did see him enjoyed it cause he was a morale booster even though we didn’t get to see him, to think that Bob Hope come to Korea it was a morale booster in itself, even though I didn’t see him.
Interviewer: What did you do when you were on leave?
Eugene: Well, we get cut out if you’re talking about leave, there was no leave from Korea until I came home. When I did go on leave, after Korea and before Korea, I would go visit my folks, my family, try to get around to as many of em as I could but there never was enough time.
Interviewer: Well, where did you travel while you were in the service?
Eugene: Well I could start out beginning recruiter for 1946, I went to recruit people in San Diego, California. After I complete boot camp, we had a brief period of mess duty which is not really not a joyful duty but that serving and cleaning the dishes for the other recruits after you graduated. After that I went to (name of school) school which was 50 miles away from San Diego at camp Pendleton, California (?). There was a camp called camp Delmore (?), there I went through communications school, basically wire school. And from there I went to (?), North Carolina where I was working in base communications as a telephone installer repairman for the base and for the civilians and the military families that lived on base or lived in houses off base. That was my job back in camp Ojun (?). I had often thought about being a commercial pilot when I got out. This was my first…and I thought I’d go to Spartan University and also Oklahoma and I started taking preparatory courses through request to prepare me for this. When I advanced in the courses, which was about a thousand fifty hours of studying, and I was called to…to be an instructor there, to instruct the course I had been taking. So I was an instructor at the…until my first…December 1949. After I relisted for two years to go to McAllister, that was a naval ammunition depot, it was close to home. My folks living about 60 miles away, I’d be closer to them but that only lasts for about 6 months.
50:01 – 55:00 Isabella Craig
Eugene: …from the service in Marine Core years taught if you go outside, you always put your hat on, and in the civilian life you don’t always have that criteria. So I was always when I got ready to go to work or wherever after I retired I first thought, get your hat, and that was, that stuff was the
Interviewer: Thank you. Did you make any close friendships while you were in the service?
Eugene: Yes I made a few of close relationships in Marine Core that I knew in the 1950’s, you didn’t develop too close relationships to the point that you were real buddy buddy. You still had buddies and people you’d depend on to, but for anyone that might be under your control, you might have to tell him or give an order to go do something that would cost him his life and if you become too friendly with your troops, this becomes hard for some people. I do keep in contact with some of the people that I had served with. One I write to frequently with emails and so forth. In fact, I’ve got some pictures of his return to, trip to Korea in 2003 on my website. I also communicate with one other man that went through boot camp with me and in the same platoon, Gene Walwult, and I still communicate with him. He now lives in Columbia, Missouri. Lenard Sheflit, he lives in Virginia. And we, our families associate together quite a bit during our time in service.
Interviewer: Did you join a veterans organization?
Eugene: I may have been asked to join a lot of them. Marine Core league here in Triber city and BFW and I have refrained from joining them. I spent 20 years in the Marine Core. My wife endured that time we were married putting up with military life and I had decided when I retired, I retired, and I wasn’t going to subject my family to any more military life. Not that they didn’t like it. But it was time to play the civilian role, and so therefore, I have not joined any military organizations, veteran’s organizations for that purpose.
Interviewer: Did your military experience influence your thinking about war, or about the military in general?
Eugene: My first thoughts of the military when I went in at the young age of 17 was one of glory, one of girls galore, one of happy times, and gay times, and parties. Well I guess I had part of that. I had a drinking problem when I was in the Marine Core and I came to the conclusion after Korea and after that prayer I sent, “Get me out of this God,” and I will assure you I came back to the states and I thought about it. And it took me 2 years before I committed myself. In 1957 I accepted the lord Jesus Christ as my savior and I’ve tried to live a Christian life ever since. Probably the best decision I ever made in my life. I’m just sorry I didn’t make it earlier.
Interviewer: How did your service, well I guess it’s how your service experience affected your life. Is there anything else you’d like to share about?
Eugene: Well I retired from the Marine Core since 1966. I guess it’ll always be a little bit Marine Core in me. I see the war going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and I, my heart goes out to the troops that have better equipment than we had. They are better trained than we were. But life is still important to them as it is to us and I think our country should say a prayer for each one of them. I think we should be mindful of the sacrifices they are making today…
0:00
how do we cycle today is December 62 sup
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2004 we are on the northern Michigan
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college campus in traverse city Michigan
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i’m interviewing Gene Dixon welcome
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jeans booth and we have camera person
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Adam new Marvel and Nick Blandon will be
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a recorder I’m the interview on my name
0:30
is jackie greene and welcome gene group
0:35
gene was born December tenth 1929 and
0:44
gene what branch of service did you
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serve in the United States Marine Corps
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I rose to the rank of gunnery sergeant I
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was selected for master sergeant
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however this requires an additional two
1:00
years and I was ready to retire 1966 so
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I retired after 20 years service and
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decline the promotion and where did you
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serve many places i served in the in the
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united states several posted stations
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throughout the united states having been
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in the ring over 20 years you would
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actually be rotated around the country i
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served in Korea Japan Okinawa and in the
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Caribbea as far as overseas
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assignments being drafted or did you
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enlist no I enlisted the Tulsa Oklahoma
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in 1946 that i had just turned 17 and
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why did you join growing up my growing
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up years was I was I in high school in
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the nineteen forty to 46 range and that’s
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when world war two was going on i guess
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i was inspired by the
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servicemen and servicewomen I see
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throughout the country during that time
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and I guess I sort of decided that’s
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additionally my brothr Merl enlisted
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in the Marine Corps in 1943 and served
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and Guam a Iwo Jima he returned in
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1945 and was discharged
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why did you pick the service branch you
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joined I guess I had a flair for
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good-looking uniforms at the time my
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high school teacher when I told her I
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was going to join the Marine Corps or it told me
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said you couldn’t even get into the army
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and that determine we won’t make me more
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determined than ever
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so I was determined to get in the Marine Corps
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do you recall your first days in service
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yes it was in boot camp when I tried to
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san diego about December the 23rd just
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by the way that’s a few days for
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christmas and i was greeted by a Marine
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Sergeant which to me in my mind was
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probably about seven feet tall and he
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quickly questioned me on my age he asked me if I was
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17 and if I was sure of it and I said yea
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and that was a the wrong thing to say
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because I learned right then you’re
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teaching your talking to a Marine sergeant
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you’re talking to one its graduates boot
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camp recruits always address them as
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sir what did it feel like during
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your first days of service
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what did it feel like being Christmas
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and and everything probably things was a
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little lax at first for the christmas
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however shortly have that we would put
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into a routine and that would be the
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routine the rest of our bootcamp about
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next eight weeks event revelry five
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o’clock in the morning roll call
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immediately thereafter and you shaved
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we need to be shaved
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you’re not and you shaved and we grew
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into a routine that lights out at ten
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no noise and that’s a way that
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every day when do you remember your
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instructors or any specific instructor
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yes sorry i read with all three of them
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they made an impression on the entire
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platoon i would say probably when we
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graduated boot camp we all have a respect
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for them because we knew they had only
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been gone through this boot camp
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Plus they’d all been World War two
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veterans how did you get through it it
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Marine boot camp is not the easiest thing
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that training to undergo however with
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the pushing of the drill instructors and
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a little bit of I don’t what you call
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determine on my part I was going to get
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through it one way or another we’re
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going to go on and talk about your
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experiences at this point which war did
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you serve in i served in the Korean War
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at the beginning of the war and served
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exactly one year where exactly did you
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go and you’re welcome to pull out the
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book if you wish and show we landed it
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Pusan Korea which at that time in august
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the second 1950 the American forces and
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the South Korean forces only had a
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little of Korea its called the Pusan Perimeter
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just a little area corner in the
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southeastern corner of the peninsula of
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Korea the South Korea part and it was
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only about 90 miles long and about 60
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miles wide and that’s all they had is a
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foothold our unit the 1st battalion
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5th marines was used in fact the entire
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marine brigade was used to plug holes in
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the line when the army or the South
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Korean troops would be pushed back we
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would be rushed to that part of the
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battle line and have to retake the
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territory that they had lost this was
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what the 1st Division Marine Brigade
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was used for during the first months first
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40 days of the war that’s what we were
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used doing just plug holes retake
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territory that had been lost or to hold
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North Korean army from breaking through
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so that was your first job assignment
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that that was our first action you okay
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one thing I didn’t ask you do you
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remember arriving in Korea and what it was
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like yes i remember it was on August the
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second it was probably about five or six
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o’clock in the evening
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almost getting dark we there was a
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republic of korea Army Band on the
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dock that was playing for us they played
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the Marine Corps hymn which made everybody
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spirit rise but it was a sort of a fishy
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garlic smell and I think that smell
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stuck with me during the entire time in
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yes right from the beginning shortly
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after arriving in August the second
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probably about august seventh or eighth we
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seen our first combat experience
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were there many casualties in your unit
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initially not at that point just a few
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wounded some KIAs but there was very
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relatively small in casualty numbers
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later the casualty numbers would rise
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later on in August sixteenth
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seventeenth eighteenth and nineteenth we
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were along the battle line called the Nakdonggang
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river along the ridge hills 102, 107
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and 109 i recall these hills were taken
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by the North Korean army and that
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they had to be held otherwise when they
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broke through that line and all the rest
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of the Allied forces would be in
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jeopardy and we did have a lot of
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casualties during that time one of the
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biggest things i remember at that time it
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was in August the temperature 115
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degrees and water was hard to come by
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I can recall they had South Korean
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police South Korean civilians they were
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marshaled into a work detail and kept
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water supplied to the combat troops
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please tell us about your job assignment
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what what was your job specifically i
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was a communicator a sergeant at the
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time I was a communicator and we were to
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provide communications to the employee
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within the infantry battalion to the
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infantry companies down to the between
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level and we would provide radio and
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wire communications as needed then as
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able to do so that they could
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communicate back to their battalion and
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regimental commanders one thing i might
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Communications is key in any combat
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situation if a commander cannot control
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or communicate with his unit with his
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infantry companies and in
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three platoons then he cannot conduct
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war as a result we had to maintain
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communications i said to say we had to
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rely a lot on radio communications
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because a fast-moving situation you
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don’t lay down telephone lines that
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expect them to stay over long because
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you’re moving the wires get cut and it’s
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not very reliable at that time with
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today they have better communication but
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that time it’s all we had and this is
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what what my main job consisted of
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interesting tell me about a couple of
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your most memorable experiences and
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probably it is to the landing that
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incheon we later units from the state’s
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arrived and reinforce this and we came
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not to brigade anymore but we became the
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first marine division and we landed
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Incheon Korea on septum of the fifth 50
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15 sep 2015 and the 3rd battalion of our
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unit landed on the island called wall me
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dole and they landed there six o’clock
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in the morning and we came in at five
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o’clock and not an evening after the
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answer is secured the island that’s in
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the port of incheon we came in about 5
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30 it was really dark and one thing it’s
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very memorable remember what about this
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this was a really gamble on general
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causes part you landed incheon and the
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high tide comes in about 5 30 5 530 but
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then it quickly goes out he was so
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devised it to larger landing crab they
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were flat bottom landing aircraft that
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would carry tanks artillery pieces or
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for the shore they would land and note i
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did go well this left them on a muddy
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bottom and they would be stuck there
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until the tide came in 24 hours
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sir and this was quite a gamble on
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MacArthur’s part tell the cars part but
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it worked and it surprised innovative as
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now what did you want to go further we
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later after we landed incheon we later
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took this capital city of south korea
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which was sold and then turn that back
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over to General MacArthur and then
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president sigma3 South Korea he was
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reinstated as president in the Capitol
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steps in seoul south korea probably is i
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recall someone around the 25th 26
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September are you actually there
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yes I wasn’t there for that 70 my unit
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was on the perimeter we were not with we
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did not see this we knew it was
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happening but we were out keeping the
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North Koreans away so that was more
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about member now I can go later to the
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chosin reservoir which after we secured
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Seoul and got our troops that reached the
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38th parallel we were prohibited from
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crossing the parallel 38th parallel because
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UN had not given authorization to
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continue north we were again would be
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leaving South Korea and going to North
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Korea and we did not have a mandate or
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any authority to do that but if they
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eventually the authority did come and we
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were allowed to to go to North Korea to
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cross the 38th parallel
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however even though we could not cross
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the South Korean army did cross and they
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went across and the North Korean
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army was in full retreat and the South
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Korean army is right behind them
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we went around on the other side of the
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peninsula and landed at Wonson South
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on i think it was October 28th-29th quite
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ironic when we land that there was a
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sign there welcome to the US Marines
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courtesy of the Republic of South Korea
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army a sign it was there on the beach
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waiting for us they had already gone that
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far north and then we proceeded to land
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at Wonson in North Korea and
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obviously this was an october and winter
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would soon be setting in
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we were ordered to proceed north into up
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in a high plateau was a elevation
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probably I think close to 4,000 feet up
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a mountain pass and we were to secure
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the territory there and at that time we
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were learning that the Chinese
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Communists had entered the conflict we
15:43
had Thanksgiving dinner we had a great
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thanksgiving dinner it was he was hot
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food but you had to eat it fast cause
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it froze very quickly it soon became
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cold snow was up on us and we were on
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the western side of that’s what is
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called the Changjin reservoir that is the
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Chosin reservoir in North Korea there’s
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a little town of Yudam-ni is
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called and we were ordered after
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thanksgiving meal to go around the
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southern tip of the Chosin Reservoir
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and help the unit the 7th Marines
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that was there to help them to go
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into the attack further to the north
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towards the Manchurian border we pulled
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into Yudam-ni probably about it was
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after dark not knowing anything about the
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area and I don’t know anything about the
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enemy in that area and we soon found out
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soon as we arrived there that our
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lines have been cut behind us after we
16:45
came through that the Chinese Communist with
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about two to three hundred thousand
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chinese communist troops came in and cut
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our supply lines they had us completely
16:56
surrounded it was pushing back the army
17:00
on our left and the army on a right and
17:03
that left them able to come around on
17:05
the territory that the army had back
17:07
from on the right and left and come
17:10
around and get behind us and we were cut
17:12
off and this was on November the 27th and 28th
17:17
of 1950 we knew that we were surrounded
17:22
cause bullets was coming from every
17:24
direction our artillery was arranged in a
17:27
circle and this told us a lot our
17:32
supplies was dropped us by air
17:36
some of it landed on our target some of
17:39
it landed on the enemy’s
17:42
territory but we were resupplied by
17:45
air and I might say we had relied a
17:49
lot on our aircraft for close air
17:51
support of course the Marine Corps had
17:54
pioneered this in after World War II
17:56
and during World War II and were considered
18:01
experts in air ground team warfare and
18:07
that was the once we were surrounded and
18:11
we decision was that we were had orders
18:15
to attack northward to the Yalu River
18:18
however this did not succeed and some
18:23
people would say it was retreat and
18:25
the Marine Corps don’t call it a retreat we
18:27
just turned around and attack in a
18:28
different direction we attacked the
18:31
probably the biggest mistake the
18:35
chinese made was in letting us find our
18:41
way back because we would join another
18:43
unit that was to the rear of us and as
18:45
we got back from Yudam-ni to Hagaru
18:49
we joined another battalion that was
18:52
also surrounded but we became stronger
18:54
and from Hagaru we went to Kot’o-ri
18:58
and we joined another unit and that
19:01
made us stronger and so we
19:04
were able to fight our way out of the
19:08
but it took 35 miles of icy snowy roads
19:14
temperatures 35 below zero about 13 days to
19:22
go through this area we finally got out
19:25
and i’m happy to say on December 10th
19:28
1950 on my 21st birthday I walked out a
19:32
free man from the Chosin Reservoir along
19:34
with the rest of the Marines we brought
19:37
our equipment we brought our casualties
19:40
we brought most of our KIAs there were
19:43
some that had to be buried in North
19:47
Korea and we are still to this day
19:50
trying to recover those remains course
19:54
the North Korean army and North Korean
19:56
government is not cooperating and we
19:59
have a problem there and this is
20:02
something that the United Nations the
20:05
American people deserve to have done
20:08
recovery of those remains were you ever a
20:16
prisoner-of-war no fourth day I it was
20:20
never close to be a prisoner of war
20:23
not many Marines did become prisoners or
20:26
because they fought until they can fight
20:30
a war where you are awarded any medals
20:35
or citations as unit that was all i was
20:38
ordering we awarded the combat action
20:43
ribbon which shows that you were under
20:45
combat action and can you see hostile
20:51
injury or be killed during our time in
20:58
Korea our unit received for presidential
21:01
unit citation from the present united
21:03
states received a Korean presidential
21:08
isolation from the president of career
21:10
plus 5 combat engagement stars for
21:16
combat engagements that dice participate
21:19
in during my ear there
21:23
well then how did you get those you told
21:27
us how you got those it was a great they
21:33
were they were dangerous given ok you
21:36
you earned them and you were authorized
21:38
to wear the ribbons and the citation
21:43
I don’t know with your rank
21:49
did you help with any of the planning or
21:52
anything whole thing sergeant don’t have
21:57
books are they don’t get in on the
22:00
planning this is usually left up to the
22:02
staff officers each unit has what they
22:07
call is one officer which is personnel
22:10
is to his intelligence s3 is your
22:13
operations he’s the one that runs and
22:17
your s4 is your supply your commanding
22:19
officer your battalion commander and the
22:21
staff officers they do the planning
22:25
however it’s for the most part plan by
22:28
higher headquarters uz by General
22:32
MacArthur and his headquarters right on
22:35
down through the division headquarters
22:36
to the regiment to the battalion in the
22:40
front gets down to you and so in
22:43
planning know you do the executing and
22:47
you may have some knowledge of what
22:50
you’re going to do but it’s limited that
22:55
thank you we’re going to talk about life
23:00
while you were in the service first
23:04
question is how did you stay in touch
23:06
with your family during the war it was
23:11
by letter I know today they have cell
23:14
phones they have email they have
23:16
computers but we had none of that
23:18
technology with us there and it was by
23:22
letter we only probably turn my time in
23:27
it’s hard to say how do you hear several
23:30
letters from my mother father from my
23:33
sisters would write to me but this is
23:36
the only communication you had with the
23:38
people back home you had no knowledge of
23:40
what they were hearing about the war
23:43
except and you had very little
23:46
opportunity to write them and tell them
23:48
many times you didn’t know what was
23:50
happening in many times you were too
23:52
busy occupied to take the time to write
23:54
what was the food like fully
24:00
associations and for us except on
24:05
special occasions like we had known
24:07
thanksgiving dinner that was preparing
24:09
hot for us but see radiations I guess
24:13
the best way to explain his canned food
24:16
in cannes have some of those Frank and
24:19
beans meat and beans spaghetti and
24:24
these were all in a can and then you
24:26
heat them up and you wonder that’s what
24:29
you eat you had crackers with your
24:31
c-rations you have cocoa bars is it only
24:37
through the package of cigarettes for
24:39
those smoke chewing gum and and a few
24:44
sanitary things that come with the
24:48
accelerations that’s all well good when
24:51
you’re into employment but when you’re
24:53
in the cold climate 35 degrees below
24:56
zero getting that food thought it
25:00
becomes burned before you can heat it up
25:05
well to get it melted even frozen and
25:10
you might remember using the candidacy
25:13
races picking one being out of tired of
25:15
time have a beam in a can of beans and
25:19
Franks and you take it whatever you
25:22
could out a little bit of time for the
25:24
most part i lived on the cocoa bars a
25:28
little bit of candy was in it and the
25:31
crackers was in it because it just
25:33
wasn’t feasible to warm up food for a
25:38
couple reasons to get it hot enough but
25:40
then to you didn’t want to build a fire
25:42
and be exposures at your position to the
25:45
enemy so that’s how we manage to eat the
25:49
food was good there is nutritious for
25:51
you but getting it was it was the best
25:54
tasting stuff but it maybe you could if
25:59
you eat it you survive you were talking
26:03
about it being so cold
26:05
what problems did that pose for from
26:09
keeping here warming some of the weapons
26:11
malfunction during the cold weather they
26:20
would freeze up and not function
26:22
properly that was the weapons the
26:24
communication equipment was the same way
26:26
we had what they called snow packs or
26:32
shoe packs that had been issued to us
26:35
when we went into the colder weather in
26:38
however they were little value in fact
26:42
they were the cause of many many
26:44
casualties suffered by the Marines any
26:48
army during that first winter in Korea
26:52
what happened they were sort of rubber
26:55
isolated boots you walk in and that’s
27:01
fine except your feet sweat and when you
27:05
stop your feet froze and that caused a
27:08
lot of frostbite many cash with many
27:11
people lost toes feet
27:13
thanks in other parts of the body
27:16
because of the severe
27:17
inspired 35 and 40 below zero
27:21
however i still had a pair of what what
27:25
we refer to as Boone doctors those are
27:29
better shoes and I had earlier discarded
27:34
the snowpacks and went back to the
27:36
leather shoes and ladies we have
27:38
leggings that wrap around the lake and
27:41
more nose and I think this probably kept
27:44
me from getting severe frostbite i did
27:47
get frostbite slightly however it wasn’t
27:53
anything that bothered me a great deal
27:58
it does today in northern Michigan when
28:02
let me know about it what did you have
28:09
yes yes we we had adequate supplies they
28:16
got him to us especially when we were
28:19
surrounded they got into the best they
28:20
could I don’t think we ever were in need
28:26
of food to integrated step main idea was
28:30
getting being able to eat it
28:32
get in the water and it not be frozen
28:34
you can melt snow all day long in that
28:37
North Korea and get rid of water but are
28:43
so we were supplied in each code combat
28:47
combat operations pretty adequately
28:49
thing did you feel pressure stress
28:54
during that time like I think you you
28:58
know you’re under stress and under
29:01
pressure when you realize they’re not
29:02
very most of us at my level anyway just
29:09
take it one day at a time and didn’t you
29:13
were hoping to get out tomorrow but
29:16
probably the best the most the important
29:19
thing we could have a sunshiny day then
29:25
we could have our close air support our
29:29
drop the bombs where they need to be
29:31
drawn on enemy troops and so forth
29:34
the weather in North Korea wasn’t very
29:35
cooperative in that respect we get very
29:37
few cents sun shining days but our
29:42
privates are Marine pilots were there on
29:46
station to help us when and where when
29:50
and if the weather permitted it was a
29:53
result of their support enabled us
29:56
create to escape interesting
30:01
was there something special that you did
30:05
no I didn’t do anything i would say this
30:11
I wasn’t a Christian at the time I did
30:15
pray to god to get me out of this get me
30:19
back to the states and it sort of
30:22
promised him in Mountain Mine That if if
30:27
he did that part for me I would do my
30:30
part in put wrist mother life in his
30:35
hands and try to live a Christian life
30:37
in was going to get around Goodluck
30:41
charms I I don’t think we got any how
30:46
did people entertain themselves well
30:50
when time permitted like a member a few
30:54
of them struggle to carry a guitar along
30:56
with him a struggle to carry maybe a
30:59
harmonic oh and he would be remember
31:02
country music plane when we were in the
31:06
areas that would allow it if you want
31:08
the front lines this was not permitted
31:10
but if you were in a rest area or in the
31:12
back behind the lines are then then you
31:15
could but this was entertainment are you
31:20
buy fake up some silly games that there
31:23
wasn’t much much entertainment
31:26
well which leads me to the next question
31:30
was where they’re entertainers at all
31:34
they there were entertainers that came
31:37
to Korea but I never seen it
31:39
they never forgot where I was
31:41
I understand Bob Hope was in North Korea
31:44
but I never seen bubble he running in my
31:47
area but i’m sure the troops that didn’t
31:54
see them enjoying him because he was he
31:57
was a morale booster
31:59
even though we didn’t get the same to
32:00
think that Bob Hope came to grip this is
32:04
more elbow strain yourself even though
32:06
ridin sees what did you do when you are
32:12
well we get coming for you if you’re
32:16
talking about on leave there was no
32:18
leaving Korea until I came home when I i
32:23
would go a bit when I would go on leave
32:25
after Korea and for clear i would go to
32:28
visit my folks my family
32:31
try to get around those videos as I
32:33
could but never it never was enough time
32:36
well where where did you travel while
32:42
you were in the service beginning next
32:46
upon well I could start at the beginning
32:48
we created with 1946 I want to wrinkle
32:53
recruit depot in san diego california
32:54
after i completed boot camp we had a
33:00
brief period of mess duty which is not
33:05
really enjoy duty but you do that
33:07
serving and cleaning the dishes for the
33:10
other recruits have you graduated after
33:14
that I went to feel telephone school
33:16
which was about 50 miles away from san
33:19
diego it can’t Pendleton California
33:22
little camp called Camp Delta war and
33:24
there I went through communication
33:27
school basically filled wire school and
33:31
from there I went to Camp Lejeune North
33:33
Carolina where I was working working in
33:37
base communications there’s a telephone
33:39
installed impairment for the base and
33:42
for the civilians and for the military
33:46
families that lived on base for live in
33:51
and that was my job but in camp in june
33:54
i had often thought about being the
33:57
commercial pilot when I got out and this
34:00
is during my first enlistment and I had
34:05
thought I’d go to spartan university in
34:08
tulsa oklahoma and i started taking
34:12
prepared to our courses through with the
34:14
wrinkle Institute to prepare me for this
34:16
1i advance in the courses which was
34:20
about a thousand fifty hours of study
34:22
and I was called the Marine Corps
34:25
Institute to be instructor there to
34:28
instruct the course that I had been
34:29
taking so I was instructed to make our
34:34
Institute until my first enlistment
34:37
ended in December 1949 after I relisted
34:42
for two years to go to mcalester
34:45
oklahoma that was a naval ammunition
34:48
peephole it was close to home
34:50
my folks living only about 60 miles way
34:54
to not be closer to them but that only
34:58
lasted about six months and I was
35:00
ordered to the first motivation can tell
35:02
in california and in July 1950 the Queen
35:10
will look out in Julian 1950 and in 1950
35:15
july i think of the 14th we set sail for
35:20
sale for korea south korea I certain
35:26
career for a year from 1950 oddest 1952
35:29
june nineteen fifty-one I came back and
35:33
was assigned to the naval communications
35:36
station in washington DC i was stationed
35:40
there for a while until i was ordered to
35:42
go to recruiter school itself there
35:45
south in South Carolina Parris Island
35:48
and I went through a ring crawling
35:50
critter school and we signed a
35:52
recruiting Dewey in the Western
35:54
recruiting area in working out of san
35:57
francisco i mainly was
36:01
non-commissioned officer in charge of
36:04
the recording substation in stockton
36:06
california where i served there until my
36:11
tour was up when I was ordered to the
36:13
third brain division which was headed
36:16
for Korea again however Korea peace
36:21
talks had started and they destroyed
36:23
this 3rd Marine Division to Japan which
36:26
we went to Japan and i serve there with
36:28
the 3rd Marine Division came back to the
36:31
states went to the 2nd Marine Division
36:36
which was in camp lejeune north carolina
36:38
but it was only there a short time and I
36:41
was ordered to recruiting duty again
36:43
traverse city michigan i came here and
36:46
serve three years as a recruiter here in
36:49
traverse city in nineteen that was
36:52
nineteen fifty-five to 1958 1958 has
36:57
ordered to communication chief school at
36:59
san diego i graduated from there in the
37:04
meantime while I was the traverse city i
37:06
married my wife the former run at work
37:10
it and she became my wife we had after
37:15
14 months we had a baby boy but my
37:19
orders were going to San Diego and we
37:22
had a quite a trip taking a two-week-old
37:25
baby crying and all the way I seem right
37:30
to san diego for six months of school
37:35
after that I went to was ordered to the
37:37
2nd Marine Division in camp lejeune
37:40
where i stayed there for about three
37:43
years and then I went to third with the
37:46
3rd Marine Division in 1963 which was
37:53
stationed over at the time and we I was
37:56
there for a year and came back in 1964
38:01
and we’re station that
38:02
the inspector instructor stabbed in
38:06
rochester new york that was a place
38:09
where I that we would train reserves
38:12
wrinkle reserves on weekends and during
38:19
their weekend training one weekend one
38:21
and i served there for three years and
38:24
retired from there in 1966 that’s it in
38:29
a nutshell home been a lot of places
38:31
gene do you recall any particularly
38:38
humorous or unusual events that you’d
38:41
like to tell I don’t know is any humors
38:46
i think in the event of the children
38:49
raised born we were surrounded getting
38:53
through that getting out of that had a
38:57
impact on my life future i think it made
39:01
me realize how fragile our lives are and
39:08
how they can be taken away from this at
39:10
any time the spacing when you’re
39:13
involved with an enemy at their whole
39:16
idea on their side is to kill you and I
39:20
think these this have the impact on my
39:25
life married but when i married my wife
39:28
that had an impact on my life and later
39:31
on when i became a christian that out of
39:34
the impact on my life
39:38
Oh along the were there any praise our
39:49
jokes that people would pull in when you
39:53
they were in the service or the girl
39:56
being anything that’s memorable that you
39:58
tell about autos enroll your early years
40:00
we were always people you know that you
40:03
take a rest when you’re on a hike or
40:05
something people won’t always give them
40:07
a hotfoot that’s been sticking some
40:09
matches in the souls of the shoe and
40:11
light them and then watch them dance
40:13
around have to be careful you doing that
40:16
but you better be sure he didn’t know
40:18
that you did it and if you did he was
40:23
so the little things like that that you
40:25
do the kids to live it up things it was
40:28
funny to time probably silly and stupid
40:31
light and life up a little bit yeah i
40:42
know you have photographs gene this is
40:44
the part of the interview where would
40:49
you like to show some of those right now
40:50
why don’t want your kid okay you’re too
40:55
sure I believe can we do that we get on
41:00
this one and you can tell us who’s in
41:05
the photographs or what they’re about
41:07
this is a photograph of my recruiter
41:10
platoon upon graduating from Marine
41:15
Corps boot camp in San Diego we
41:18
graduated in February I think it was a
41:20
1947 we started recruit training in
41:24
December 46 but our recruit training
41:27
ended in February of 47 there’s another
41:36
this is a when I went to feel telephone
41:43
school at camp down water California
41:45
this is our class and we graduated from
41:51
there in june of 1947 this is the dark
42:04
picture but this when i got the campus
42:06
june i was in base communications there
42:09
and we were issued our first centuries
42:14
and dress blues now this is really a
42:16
moreover that memorable day for us
42:21
evergreen just threaten wait for the day
42:24
he get issued his dress proves and
42:27
that’s when we got issued in 1948 I like
42:42
i’ll give you some writer pictures of
42:52
this is a picture of me when I was
42:56
recruiting in stockton california i was
43:00
there in 1952-53 that was actually met
43:08
your wife and you already had a baby
43:10
no I don’t know that that I met my wife
43:12
and when I was here
43:14
ok 50 through 53 this was when I can’t
43:19
was recruiting traverse city this is one
43:22
ok this is shows me giving the final
43:26
instructions to a group of recruits
43:27
leaving flavor City to go to recruit
43:31
training and they that’s a group that
43:34
was keep putting on the plus here and
43:36
flavors that is equal to Detroit for
43:39
your final physical and shipment to
43:41
recruit training this is another picture
43:48
of me when I was recruiting in traverse
43:51
city michigan i think this was about
43:55
nineteen fifty-eight we had a in my
43:58
office at the time we were working at
44:01
the post office in the basement no
44:02
service and we were I had a group of
44:06
paintings that were drink or paintings
44:09
from world war two battles that the
44:12
record fought and I presented it is to
44:14
the traverse city library which is on
44:17
sixth Street a much smaller library and
44:27
this is a picture of my class when we
44:32
graduated from communications chief
44:36
school in june of 1959 this was about a
44:42
six-month course that we in the word
44:46
learning all phases of communications
44:48
the clan level and how to write up
44:53
operation orders and so forth and deploy
44:56
different means of communications and
45:04
this is one of me pictures taken of me
45:08
when I was in rochester new york before
45:10
my retirement during this time 1964 in
45:16
1966 the Vietnam War was in full
45:20
progress during that time in the
45:24
rochester new york area we had occasion
45:29
to a sad occasion i might say to lay
45:33
about 30 to 35 rings to rest and been
45:38
wounded all been killed in Vietnam
45:42
this is a picture of them
45:45
this is a picture of the final squad
45:49
panic in the final tribute to one of the
46:00
on my half of returning from after
46:11
getting after being right or duty and
46:15
Rochester was done i returned to the
46:18
hours and return to try to retire and
46:21
turn the driver city is a picture of me
46:25
into taken at the time across Chester
46:27
New York this is a right alongside is a
46:31
traverse city record-eagle article on my
46:35
retirement in june or july in 1966 when
46:42
i retired from rancor I head it had to
46:45
go to work we work in civilian life and
46:49
therefore i had to i went to work
46:53
first I want to work for the privacy
46:54
post office i’ll take that back i went
46:59
to work for teller finance which is on
47:02
Front Street in traverse city and i work
47:07
at our finance for a year and i become
47:10
dissatisfied of that job because it was
47:12
nice to make a loan but then you hit was
47:15
expected to collected and a lot of
47:17
people didn’t didn’t want to pay so that
47:21
job didn’t appeal to be so i applied at
47:24
the Traverse City post office and I was
47:26
accepted and i worked there for about
47:28
eight months in Traverse City post Elvis
47:31
but during that time an opening team up
47:35
at the Grand Traverse County Road
47:36
Commission and I was applied for that
47:39
job and was accepted
47:41
they weren’t too happy at work at the
47:45
postmaster diversity was do happy that
47:47
leaves after just getting trained on six
47:50
months six eight months but I had a
47:52
better opportunity and to crank grand
47:55
hose running broke at the Grand Traverse
47:57
what county road commission when I went
48:00
to work and this is a picture of me in
48:02
the Christers at the time I think this
48:06
about 1972-73 era the Grand Traverse
48:11
County Road commissions and I was
48:13
serving as personnel and as a clerk of
48:19
the board for the county road commission
48:21
my job in these meetings was to take the
48:24
minutes record the minutes and sign
48:28
legal documents with a good road
48:32
thank you that you know you know if you
48:43
okay back for my break
48:46
gene you recall the day your service
48:49
yes I do jun 30 is 1966 I had four boys
48:58
at that time we had four boys and i had
49:04
to move all the rows back to Traverse
49:06
City we had decided to retire flavor
49:08
City they had to move all them the
49:10
furniture and everything in our
49:13
furniture did not get picked up in
49:16
cleared from the house we’re living in
49:18
until about five fuckin evening we
49:21
brought all those kids up and we hid for
49:23
Trevor city and we drove through Canada
49:26
going away back it was the kids were
49:29
that’s the best time to travel and we
49:32
were able to get back to our city
49:34
the following morning at daylight and
49:39
that he was good it was a hard in many
49:44
ways it was hard to give up the service
49:46
been with it for 20 years but I was
49:49
looking forward with anticipation to
49:53
going to work probably the hardest thing
49:59
I had to break from the service and
50:01
wrinkle your top if you go outside you
50:04
always put your head on in there sweetie
50:08
like you don’t have that criteria and so
50:10
I was always when I got ready to go to
50:14
work or wherever after I retired the
50:18
get your head and that was that stuck
50:23
thank you did you make any close
50:26
friendships while you’re in the service
50:28
yes I made a few of close relationships
50:32
in record that I knew in the nineteen
50:36
fifties you didn’t develop to close
50:40
relationship to the point that you were
50:44
real buddy-buddy you still have buddies
50:46
and people you depend on to but for
50:51
anyone that might be under your control
50:53
you might have to tell him or give him
50:55
an order to go do something that would
50:59
cost him his life and if you become too
51:03
friendly with your troops this becomes
51:06
hard for some people i do keep in
51:10
contact with some of the people that I
51:12
had served with one eye right to
51:15
frequently with emails and so far as in
51:18
fact I’ve got some pictures of his
51:22
return to the trip to korea in nineteen
51:25
2003 on my websites also communicate
51:31
with one other men that went through
51:33
boot camp with me in the same platoon
51:35
gene wall and I still communicate with
51:40
MP now lives in I think columbia
51:42
missouri and leather shift with he lives
51:46
in Virginia and we and our families
51:49
associate because they’re quite a bit
51:52
during our time in service
51:56
did you join a Veterans organization the
52:01
masked man have been asked to join a lot
52:07
the bringing the marine corps league
52:09
here driver city VFW and I have
52:13
refrained from join them
52:15
I spent 20 years in the ring for my wife
52:19
endured that time that we were varied
52:22
putting up with military life and I had
52:26
decided when I retired I retired and I
52:30
wasn’t going to subject my family to any
52:35
not that they did like it but it was
52:39
time to play the civilian role and so
52:43
therefore i have not joined any military
52:45
organization of veterans organizations
52:47
for that purpose did your military
52:52
experience influence your thinking about
52:55
war or about the military in general my
53:02
first thoughts of the military when I
53:06
went in at the young age of 17 was one
53:10
of glory one of girls the lower one of
53:14
the happy times and gave times and
53:19
well I guess I had part of that I had a
53:22
drinking problem when I was in the rink
53:24
or and I came to the conclusion after
53:29
Korea and after that prayer I said he’d
53:34
get me out of this god and i will serve
53:36
you i came back to the states and I
53:40
thought about it and it took me two
53:42
years before I commit myself in 1957 I
53:49
accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my
53:51
savior and I’ve tried to live a
53:53
Christian life ever since probably the
53:57
best best decision I ever made in my
54:00
life I’m just sorry I didn’t make it
54:05
how did your service well I guess that’s
54:09
how your service and experience expected
54:11
affected your life is there anything
54:14
else you’d like to share about no well I
54:18
retired from the ring for since nineteen
54:22
sixty-six I guess you’ll always be a
54:25
little bit of marine corps in be icy the
54:28
war going on in Iraq today and
54:32
Afghanistan and I my heart goes out to
54:37
the Troops they have better equipment
54:39
than we had they are better trained
54:42
illegal but life is still important to
54:46
them is this to us to us and I think our
54:49
country should say a prayer for each one
54:52
of them i think we should be mindful of
54:57
the sacrifices they are making today
54:58
giving up their time with their family
55:02
sometimes giving up their lives
55:06
I suppose it will always affect me when
55:10
I hear of a brain getting killed and
55:13
when I see what happens in Iraq but we
55:16
should be there we have a purpose for
55:19
being there and I think the people the
55:23
right will think us down the line for it
