Korean War Records
Korean War Records
Jerome Altenburg (Army) Audio 1 | Audio 2 | Transcript 1 | Transcript 2
409th Engineer Brigade; 523rd Engineer Pipeline Company, Service in Pusan, Korea 1953.
Gordon R. Beem (Navy) Audio | Transcript
USS Athene, 1945; Supply tech, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing, Korea; Service in Germany, 1950s-60s; career in health management.
David Franklin Brock (Army Combat Engineer) Documents
David Franklin Brock was raised near Spencer, Tennessee. He was drafted into the US Army during the Korean War and trained as a combat engineer and demolitions expert. He served in Korea with the 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion attached to the 2nd Infantry Division operating out of Chongpyong-ni and Kumwha regions. He returned home after the war and was a long time employee of Mallory Controls in Sparta, Tennessee.
Robert Chittum (Marine Corps) Video
Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, Robert Chittum graduated from Knoxville High School in 1950. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1949 and went into active service upon graduating school. He did training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He was then sent to California for infantry training, but was transferred to a tank division. He served in the Korean War for his full enlistment. He returned to Knoxville and attended the University of Tennessee for Mechanical Engineering. He later worked for the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas before finishing a law degree and working as a patent attorney for Xerox Corporation for 29 Years.
John J. Comp (Marine Corps) Audio | Transcript
Grew up in Hazelton, Pennsylvania in the 1940s; Voluntarily enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1952; training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California; Assigned to Camp Pendleton with Third Division; Deployed to Korea in early 1953 in George Company, Third Battalion, First Marine Division stationed at Outpost Esther; wounded on March 19, 1953 during Chinese assault on positions, but returned to frontlines shortly after; fought on Hill 229 during the Battle of Boulder City while the armistice was being negotiated in Panmunjom, May through July 1953; Building defensive measures through 1954 in case armistice did not hold; discharge in 1955; career in drafting and naval engineering in Lakehurst, New Jersey; retirement at The Villages in Florida
Stanley Duhan (II) (Navy) Audio | Transcript
Graduate of Virginia Tech; Air Force Reserves, 1951; Senior Project Engineer on Titan/Atlas Program
Ray Fisher (Army) Audio | Transcript
Ray Fisher enlisted in the Army after the breakout of the Korean War and was assigned to the United States 8th Army. He was assigned to the advanced headquarters in Seoul, Korea, where he became an administrative clerk, assisting various colonels and generals. Fisher’s account discusses his views of communism, relationships with South Koreans, and general life in Seoul during the war.
Perry G. Goad (Army Combat Engineer) Audio | Transcript
Born 1932 Albany, KY; Childhood in Sunbright, TN; Enlisted 1951; Combat engineer; D Co,13th Engineer Battalion, 7th Infantry Division 1952; Roads, Bridges, Minefields; Transport from Basic Training to Seattle and on to Korea; Combat experience; Construction duties; Conditions in Korea; R&R in Japan; Impressions of officers; Post-war, finding work; Semi-professional baseball player; 34 years at Harriman Hosiery.
Hermes Grillo, M.D. (Marines) Audio | Transcript
Born in Boston, 1923; childhood during the Great Depression; attended Brown University; attended Harvard Medical School; practiced neurosurgery; Naval surgeon in Korean War, 1951-52; Second Division, Company D; trained at Camp Lejeune; MASH; worked with 1st Marine Division and Fleet Marine Force; Postwar; married with four children; distinguished professor at Harvard University; World renowned expert in thoracic surgery; author of the textbook, Surgery of the Trachea and Bronchi; died in car crash in Italy, 2006.
Stephen Harris (Navy) Audio | Transcript
Stephen Harris was part of an 83-man crew aboard the USS Pueblo when North Korean soldiers captured the vessel on January 23, 1968. Harris accounts for the capture of the vessel and his time as a prisoner-of-war. Harris’ speech reiterates his religious beliefs as a pillar throughout his experience.
James R. Henderson (Army) Audio | Transcript
Early life, Queens, NY; mother was Margy Taylor, actress & singer; drafted during Korean War; Basic Training at Fort Dix; 60th Infantry Regiment, 7th Army; Germany, Heilbronn, Stuttgart, Olm; Postwar career in the NYPD, patrolman and detective, 1957-1977; Medal of Honor presented by mayor and police commissioner.
Dr. Andrew Kang (I) (Civilian/Researcher NIH) Audio | Transcript
Civilian in Korea during WWII/Korean War; “Yellow Beret;” Medical researcher.
Dr. Andrew Kang (II) (Civilian/Researcher NIH) Audio | Transcript
A follow-up discussion of Dr. Kang’s medical career and research.
Paul LaForce (Army) Audio | Transcript
Paul LaForce was born in Vance, Virginia, on September 20, 1929. LaForce enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and then entered the Virginia Military Institute. Once the Korean War broke out, LaForce was discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve and enlisted in the Army on September 1, 1950. This account discusses LaForce’s experience in the Korean War. LaForce further discusses how intervening in Korea prevented the spread of communism. He said, “I personally believe, and I still believe this to this day, that we pretty well stopped what was commonly referred to as the domino effect where communism would have moved from one nation to the other. I believe that would have happened all across Southeast Asia had we not intervened.”
Charles “Buddy” Liner (Air Force) Audio | Transcript
Born and raised in Athens, Tennessee; Growing up during the Great Depression; Participating in the Battle of Athens as a teenager; Joining Air Force after graduating McMinn County High School; Training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio Texas; Electronics Countermeasure Operator (ECM) in the 304th Bomb Wing stationed out of Okinawa during the Korean War; Flying 18 Missions over North Korea on B29 Bombers; transfer to 509th Bomb Wing in Roswell, New Mexico and stories about crewmembers who had served in World War II; Going to school at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens after service; graduate school at Peabody in Nashville; career in insurance, philanthropy, and state government.
Harold Lloyd Maples (Army) Audio | Documents | Transcript
Harold Lloyd Maples was born in Powell, Tennessee, on May 14, 1930. Maples was inducted in the United States Army in October 1952 during the Korean War and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, before being pipelined to the Far East command and then to Service Company 224th Infantry Regiment of the 40th “Sun Burst” Division where he was assigned in the “The Punch Bowl” to the Grave Registration Section. Harold was relieved of active duty in July 1954 at the rank of sergeant. His unit was on Heartbreak on July 27, 1953, when the Korean conflict truce was signed.
Delbert Marks (Marine Corps) Audio 1 | Audio 2 | Audio 3 | Audio 4 and 5 | Documents and Transcripts
Delbert Marks was born on October 18, 1931. Marks’ account depicts his destitute upbringing during the Great Depression in Johnson City, Tennessee, his time in the Marine Corps, and his combat experience in the Korean War. Marks’ account is detailed in his early upbringing, his training experience, and his time abroad.
J. C. Mason (Army) Audio | Transcript
Pre-war life in Maryville, TN; Father, brothers, and cousins served in the military; Enlisted November 1951; Basic training, Fort Ord, CA; 7th Infantry Division, 32nd Infantry Regiment; Arrived Korea, June 1952; Kumhwa Valley; Combat against Chinese and North Koreans; Wounded at Triangle Hill; Post-war; National Guard service.
Joe Pete McKeehan (Army) Website
Private First-Class Joe Pete McKeehan was born on December 24, 1925, in Elizabethton, Tennessee. He was a graduate of Happy Valley High School. He served as a member of F Company in the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was killed in action on January 7, 1952, only 2 months after he arrived in Korea. McKeehan was 26 at the time of his death and left behind his wife, Mrs. Virginia Dugger McKeehan, and daughter, Jo Ann McKeehan. He was awarded several honors: a Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman Badge, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and Republic of Korea War Service Medal. He is laid to rest in the McKeehan Cemetery in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Col. John W. Patrick (Ret.) (Army) Audio | Transcript
Childhood and life in Detroit and Highland Park, MI; recollections of Pearl Harbor and war time life on the home front; Wayne State University; drafted April, 1943; Fort Benning, GA; role as instructor; deployment to Korea, 1945-1947; assignment to the 7th Infantry Division; life in Korea; ROTC instructor; deployment to 1st Infantry Division, Germany, 1950; integration of the military; reassignment to Taiwan, III Corps Operations adviser; return to Korea, 1961 as part of VI Army operations staff; Korea government coup, 1962; testing of nuclear munitions in Nevada; ; promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, assignment to Vietnam; preparations for deployment, including language and cultural training; adviser to South Vietnamese troops, promotion to colonel, return to the United States; thoughts on draft vs. volunteer militaries.
Richard Raby (Army) Audio | Transcript
Richard Raby was born in New York City in 1930. Raby was in the Army when he heard about the invasion of North Koreans into South Korea. He was part of Dog Company, 6th Medium Tank Battalion and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division. He landed in Korea on August 8, 1950 in Busan. Raby’s account details his career in the army and his thoughts on communism and the Korean war.
Walter Seivers (Army) Documents
Sergeant Walter Seivers was born July 21, 1926. He attended Knoxville High School and worked at White Stores Grocery before joining the United States Army to serve during World War II, and upon his return he married Helen Lucille Davis in 1946. He was called back to service in October 1950 with the 1st Marine Division in Korea. In September 1951 Seivers was killed in action by an artillery round while attempting to take part of the Hwachon Reservoir, nicknamed the “Punchbowl.”
P. Neal O’ Steen (Navy) Audio | Transcript
Prewar life in Bedford County, TN; Enlisted Jan. 1941; Philadelphia Naval Hospital until Dec. 7, 1941; Naval Recruitment Station, Philadelphia until June, 1943; Sole medical staffer aboard USS ATR-23, rescue tug, in eastern Pacific, 1943-1946, Pharmacist’s Mate, First Class; U.S. Navy Reserve 1947-1951; Korean War at Norfolk Naval Air Station 1950-1951, Chief Hospital Corpsman; Postwar; UT-Knoxville, Class of ’50, Journalism; Kingsport Times, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot; Director of Publications at UT-Knoxville, 1957-1985.
William Tinsley (Army) Audio | Transcript
William Tinsley first learned about the conflict in Korea on the radio. He was in the army and sent to China. Though he attests that he did more training than combat and hardly saw the enemy, Tinsley’s account details his thoughts on communism, his impression of the South Korean people, and other duties required of him during the conflict.
Dorothy Vollmer (USMC) Documents
Captain Dorothy Vollmer was born in 1927 in Harrisburg, PA. Inspired by her Brother, who served in World War II, she joined the local Civil Air Patrol during the conflict, selling war bonds to support the cause. She enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1949, and her MOS was personnel administration. She served as a drill instructor for new recruits at Parris Island, and worked at recruiting and administrative roles in many postings stateside. Though she was never stationed overseas, her work was instrumental to ensuring success on the homefront. Her work as an administration clerk typing correspondence and pay forms during the Korean Conflict allowed for women Marines to be stationed all over the United States rather than only serving in Washington DC. After her twenty one years of service, Vollmer worked as a realtor in Memphis until her death in 2012.
W. Lewis Wood (Navy) Audio | Transcript
Born 1925, Starkville, MI; family background and childhood in Memphis, TN; Great Depression; University of Tennessee; 1943; enlistment in Navy, 1944; training Fort Oglethorpe, Aviation Electronic Technician; training, Great Lakes Naval Station; discussion of advanced electronics training; stationed Corpus Christi, TX; released from Navy, 1945; work with power plant, Little Rock, AK; return to University of Tennessee; ROTC; enlistment, 1950; infantry training; assignment to the 45th Infantry Division; racial tensions during desegregation of the military; front line experiences; tensions between reservists and regular Army personnel; Japan, interactions with Japanese and Korean civilians; interactions with Commonwealth troops; Yonchon Corridor; awarded Bronze Star; return to the U.S.; feelings about Korea and China.
