Voices from the Korean War - Douglas Rice [47]
August 30,
Kyoto, Japan,
The hotel is really something, similar to the Royal Hawaiian. I was going to room with Scotty but he was killed flying into Itami when they hit bad weather, so I’ll be rooming with Lt. Doyle Cole.
September 6,
At sea,
We’re running interdiction missions between Pyongyang and Taejon hitting everything we see.
September 8,
At sea,
Got me another bridge today. Oster put his bomb on one abutment to the left and I got it on the right side so we knocked out the first span between us.
September 10,
At sea,
Had morning strike today and made a napalm strike on a little island off Inchon.
September 12,
Sasebo, Japan,
We are restocking and loading ammo like mad so watch the papers for something big and we will be right in the middle of it.
September 14,
At Sea,
D minus 1. Today is the first time we’ve used U.S. Controllers to handle the fire of British ships. There were 4 of us each one to control a cruiser sitting 4 miles off Inchon. Oster and Jack Kelley to control the 2 U.S. Cruisers and Sid Fisher and I to control the 2 British cruisers. Took off at 1145 with 2 belly tanks full of gas. First targets I started firing on were 2 AA guns next to a baseball park right in the city. One of my adjustment rounds knocked out home plate but once those British got on, they leveled those 2 guns—also got a tank that was hid under some big trees. Then I spotted 6 more AA emplacements on top of a hill. Took only 2 adjustments and they were right on with a broadside of 9 – 6 inch shells. I spotted some machine gun emplacements and really gave them a pasting.
September 16,
At sea,
I took off at 0945 and reported in to the target controller who assigned us a road patrol between Inchon and Suwon. Just then I spotted an enemy jeep doing about 50mph. I peeled off with my wingman and caught it dead center with a burst of 20mm. It swerved off the road and stopped, then my wingman, Van Campen, caught him solid. Then we returned to our assigned target in Seoul and really had a field day. We put 6 – 500# bombs, one napalm and 55 rockets into a yard full of truck trailers and fuel supplies. It was leveled, along with a locomotive and 2 tank cars, we attacked next.
September 17,
At sea,
Caught a whole bunch of troops out in the open getting ready to cross the Han River into Seoul. It was awful! They had no place to go—couldn’t hide; and we just made run after run on them. Napalm, bombs, rockets and 20mm. When we finished, there were so many dead lying on the beach we couldn’t count them.
Usually we never see troops, or if we do, just a few because they are always camouflaged, but that white sand made them really stand out. 2 of our planes were hit but not seriously. 214 had a plane shot down but they got the pilot back after a little trouble. He had a broken leg and the pilot of the helicopter (God bless’em) got out and was helping his mech get the pilot out of his plane; leaving his copter running and just as they got back to it, it took off with no one in it and crashed. They had to send another copter out to get all 3 of them.
October 2,
At sea,
CAS for the Marines pushing up the 38th parallel. When we left station they were about 5 miles from it and still going. When they reach it I don’t know what happens then, whether we go over or not.
October 17,
At sea,
We are less than 200 miles from Vladivostok. Last night it turned cold. We’re just below the 40th parallel.
October 18,
At sea,
The news from the radio sounds pretty good and it looks like there will be a battle for Pyongyang and then this thing should be about wound up.
October 25,
At sea,
Flew the morning CAP. As you have probably gathered from some of my letters, I don’t have much of a stomach for all this killing when I