Canada Toronto (6)
>> December 1952 is when I found out I was going to Korea, so New Year’s Day, I pulled out of Canada to go to Korea [INAUDIBLE]. So we’ll skip all that stuff. We’ve been over that. Anyways, when I was there, my job was sample. [INAUDIBLE] for their CHA. My job was to fix the line from the TAC headquarters to the OP, observation post, 6-5 and 7-5 OP. We used to have to go through this road that they had. It was a camouflaged road. Most people call it that. I call it Whizbang Alley because every time a shell landed there, all you hear is the whizzing of shrapnel flying all over the place, and the Chinese had a different tactic. Most artilleries, like have been in two wars, most artilleries have a nice pattern when they drop their shells and when their guns fire over. The Chinese didn’t. They’re always [INAUDIBLE] all over the place, so after a while, you get used to their idea. You know there’s going to be four rounds coming in somewhere. You don’t know where but somewhere, and this one time, they fooled us. They only had three, so we waited for the longest time to see when the fourth one is going to come in, so being in the artillery, you know that they always had four [INAUDIBLE]. So that’s fine and dandy. So we found out the next day they only had three, and the day after we found we had four [INAUDIBLE]. Two days before the attack of 187, we were going through this camouflaged road, what I called Whizbang Alley, and four rounds come in at exactly a perfect pattern. Don’t get me wrong. The Chinese are deadly on their computer. They have mortars that are really good, but anyway, they’re deadly, and we couldn’t figure this out because other than that, they’re all over the place. In fact, they give the false information or false feeling that they couldn’t hit the boards out of a barn door if they’re standing on it. That’s the way we felt like, but we know better after, so the day of the attack, we moved into one place. Oh, pardon me. The lines were out on the [INAUDIBLE] thing there, and our job is to fix these telephone lines and [INAUDIBLE]. I was fixing [INAUDIBLE] on the line. That’s when we found out some of the flairs were going up at night, and you took a pink sky, everything, pink sky, so we watched that, and one of the guys from the infantry told us, “We want you in this trench over here,” so we went over to that trench there. So we went in that trench area artillery [INAUDIBLE]. When I joined the artillery, I was supposed to be behind the lines, not in front of the lines. I ended up on the front lines. I don’t know how, but anyway, just like anything else I do in my life, it’s always backwards, but anyway, we were on the front lines. Now all I can tell you is what I seen and what I did, and most of the time I forgot, and I can’t remember what it is myself, and I really couldn’t care less. That’s the way I feel about it. There was an attack. The first shock is when I first seen my first enemy. It’s kind of a shock. Even though I was trained for it, it’s still there, but I caught myself into that time, fine and dandy. That was the first shock. After firing, I took that kind of … It looked like a wall of Chinese coming at you after the first shock of this trench and put that wall out [INAUDIBLE] they would wall back up again because they come in hordes. The next shock I had, I kind of had good therapy [INAUDIBLE] and they asked me different things what you might see over there, and one thing I brought out, I says, “With all the noise going on, the machine guns going and firing bombs and all other kind of stuff going on, the loudest noise you ever have is the click of a rifle when it’s empty.” So now, they’ve got a brand-new soldier. Anyway, that was the first time I got the first sign of fear go right through my body, but once again, you’re trained. I went down. There’s enough ammunition on this [INAUDIBLE]. I reloaded, fired. Okay, second time that happened, I knew what to do. I was okay, but that was the first two shocks I had, scared me was the first enemy I’ve ever seen, the first time I run out of ammo and stuff like that. What happened after that, I couldn’t tell you. All I know after a while, we run out of ammo, and I was on top of the trench until somebody had me by the leg and said, “Get back in the trench again,” so I got back in the trench again. Lucky thing I did because our machine gun behind us opened fire and cleaned house for us. So I got back in the trench, fine and dandy. So 2 days later, we had another line crew come up and relieve us to go for a shower. So anyway, shouldn’t do that. Anyway, we went for a shower, and that’s the time when I come across … I didn’t I had it. I didn’t feel it. I had bruises on my arm and bruises on my leg. I don’t know where it come from, how it got there, didn’t have a clue. So after the shower, we come back, and we’re told we were not going back on the front line. We were going back to the regiment [INAUDIBLE]. So I got back there, and I went on [INAUDIBLE] and told them about my bruises. They asked if I was drunk or what I was drinking to get these bruises, and I says, “I never had a drop of liquor in my mouth for 2 weeks or 3 weeks.” Nobody gets that many bruises and he’s sober, so I tried to explain that we were in the middle of a battle, so what happened there, I couldn’t tell you, so that’s about all, nothing much. You’ve probably heard that story 1,000 times, so there’s nothing much to it. That’s all I can tell you.
>> What do you wish for the Korean people and the current future of Korea?
>> I’m going to tell you something that I tell everybody, and a lot of other Korean veterans agree the same. They always classify us as heroes.
>> I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Can we be quiet a little bit? Sorry.
>> They always classify us for being heroes, going halfway across the world and doing war. Our heroes, what I see that are heroes is the ROK Army. They fought all 3 years in that battle. They come home and rebuild the country from dirt up, and there you go. That’s my hero.
>> Well, you’re my hero.
>> Sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t do this.
>> Thank you so much.
>> I’m sorry.
>> I’m sorry.
>> I’m sorry. I don’t know why, but I should never do this.
>> I would think that they are tears of joy and pride because what you have sacrificed for … Look at us.
>> Yeah, well …
>> Now look at us. Look at me. Look at my friend. Look at Koreans all over the world. We’re enjoying freedom today. You should be proud.
>> Well, after 65 years, you think it should be nothing near, but every so often it hits me. I don’t know why and no reason for it to me, but that’s it. So sorry.
>> Grandpa, done?
>> Yep.
>> I love you. Thank you.
>> Yep, yep.
