Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [158]
My muscles from my shoulders to my buttocks were still black and blue, which made it difficult for me to walk and caused me to lose feelings in my fingers. Sgt. Gilliam, twice asked me if it would be better for me to stay back at the tent and rest. Later on, Sgt. Wise told me that Gilliam was afraid if we got into trouble with the Chinese, he would need me and I wouldn’t be in any condition to help.
In July we were working in an area known as the “triangle,” when the Chinese starting shelling us with their mortars. Corporal Harold Riech got hit with shrapnel in the mid-section of his back. Sgt. Wise and myself carried him until we reached level ground, then he was able to walk the remaining distance to our jeep. By this time he was bleeding badly, so we needed to find a M.A.S.H. unit. Lucky for us, being surveyors we knew where the medical units were located. We took Riech to one and dropped him off. The last we heard of him he was evacuated to a hospital in Japan, then sent home.
* * * * * *
There were many missions from June thru September—then it turned cold. A tent city was set up when the 45th National Guard, from Oklahoma, and the 40th National Guard, from California arrived in late December. The 40th was to relieve us.
During the last week of December, we sailed from Inchon to Camp Drake, Japan, where we were split up. My unit went to Camp Youngons, in central Japan, where I stayed until I was in a jeep wreck. It was dark and we hit a wall on a busy street. I hit the unarmed turret with my nose, and when the jeep hit the wall I broke my arm. The driver and Master Sergeant, who were riding in the front seat, received small injuries that did not require hospital care. I was taken by ambulance to Sendi, which was a larger city and had an American hospital.
By January my injuries were getting better, so I was transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital in Tokyo; I stayed there until late February. From here I went to Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, at the Presidio.
After spending a day here, I was issued a weekend pass and went home across the bay to Oakland.
On April 25, 1952, I was discharged from the U.S. Army.
~~Fifty-Four~~
Marvin Totland
7th Cavalry Regiment
1st Cavalry Division
U.S. Army
On December 27, 1950 at the age of twenty, I entered the U.S. Army. I’m from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
* * * * * *
From September 3 through November 7, 1951, I served with Company D, 7th Cavalry Regiment. After being assigned to the mortar section, one of the first men I met was SFC [Delbert] Rice. He was a soft-spoken man and he made sure I met every man in the platoon.
* * * * * *
Our entire company was relocating and one evening, around dusk, we were all in line waiting for chow. We were spaced out about five yards apart, in an irregular line. Suddenly, a flight of jets flew over and the last one circled back, apparently to identify us. He circled again and began strafing us; everyone scattered for cover. We had four half-tracks, with quad .50 caliber machine guns. Our CO ordered the crews to fire at the plane. The pilot soon realized he was firing on friendly troops. However, several men were wounded.
* * * * * *
It was early morning on the 3rd of October; jump off day for Operation Commando. I was with Sgt. [Delbert] Rice at his duty station, which was located close to the mortars. It was equipped with a telephone for his use. He told me that he had to leave for awhile and for me to answer the phone if it rang. Sure enough, a call came in from a ranking officer, probably our platoon commander—a second lieutenant.
He wanted to speak to Sarge, so I told him he was away for the moment and would be back shortly. He said, “Get him, now!” I found him at the slit trench—answering the call of nature. The call was from the fire direction center and the conversation probably involved the gun settings to use when the attack began.
The gunners on the mortars never saw their targets—especially in the mountainous terrain of Korea. So, the use of forward observers was essential. They were assigned to front