Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [191]
After my discharge I wrote to the Department of the Army asking about Rudolph, and how could I get in touch with him. I received a letter from them informing me that on June 14, 1953, Rudolph had been killed in action.
Following years of research, on July 28, 2006, my wife and I departed Columbia, South Carolina in route to Tampa, Florida with one goal in mind—find the final resting place of Rudolph M. Randall.
On the morning of the 29th of June, we arrived at Stones Funeral Home and met with a Ms. Wonder. She was very helpful to us and asked us to follow her to the Rest Haven Cemetery. Upon arriving, we spread out and began our search for Rudolph’s grave. After a couple of hours, the cemetery director, Mr. James McEwen, noticed our search and asked if he could be of assistance.
Taking us back to his office, he gave us a refreshing drink of cold water and did some research on his computer. He found the location where those who died in the 1950’s would have been buried, but we found no headstone with the name—Rudolph M. Randall. I choose a location where Mr. McEwen and I both thought Rudolph might have been buried. Here I placed a flower that I had purchased earlier, and gave a salute to my buddy—Rudolph M. Randall. A promise that had been made some fifty-three years earlier, in the hills of Korea, had been completed.[9]
~~Seventy-Three~~
Donald “Hank” Nicol
179th Regiment
45th Infantry Division
U.S. Army
On the 26th of February, 1930, I was born in Pasadena, California. In 1947, I enrolled in Bakersfield College, but academic life wasn’t doing much for me, or I it. So, when President Truman reinstated the draft in 1948, I enlisted. According to the fine print, in the Selective Service Act, anyone that was drafted would serve for twenty-one months. However, if you enlisted, and was eighteen years old, you only had to serve one year plus some time in the reserve; I joined the U.S. Army.
The day before I was to report to Fort MacArthur, my father drove me down to San Pedro where we stayed with one of his friends. The following morning I walked a few blocks to the Fort where I received a physical along with forty-or-fifty other guys. One of which was Frank Pellet, a high school classmate.
The morning after being sworn in, we boarded a train bound for Fort Ord. Here we were issued wool olive-drab uniforms, and then we were loaded onto another train headed for Camp Hood, Texas. Here I was assigned to Company C, Fourth Training Battalion, Second Armored Division.
After basic training most of the guys from the training battalion were assigned to the 41st Armored Infantry Battalion. As for me, I was assigned to Headquarters Company where I became a truck driver.
* * * * * *
On January 2, 1952, I was a new second lieutenant reporting to Camp Roberts. Wearing my poncho, I stood in the pouring rain as a group of new recruits crawled in the mud and rain. Even though the poncho kept me nice and warm, guess who caught pneumonia? A month later, after I had been released from the hospital, I was transferred to Camp Cook. Here I was assigned to Company L, 130th Infantry Regiment, 44th Division—a federalized National Guard Company.
After spending a few months at Cook, a few second lieutenants—including myself—were shipped off to the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Here we sat in classrooms, and grandstands, listening to lectures and watching demonstrations. Then we would go out in the field to apply what we had learned. We fired various types of weapons, fought with bayonets, assaulted hills, and threw grenades; which I excelled in. We familiarized ourselves with the tank, and even made a water crossing in assault barges. Then we watched as the artillery gave an impressive demonstration.
When my training was over, I volunteered for paratrooper school. Lucky for me, my commanding officer at Cook refused