Interviewing Korean War Veteran

[IdahoSkies]

There are few things in my life that I actually regret. One of them is not interviewing (recording) my grandfather about his service in WWII and Korea before his passing.

Recently I have began feeling the same about my father-in-law. While I have known veterans, (my brother is in the army right now), I have never broached that "what was it like" discussion.

I am asking those of you who served, particularly in Korea, what should I ask him about? I know he served in a headquarters platoon as a clerk deployed in Korea, but really nothing else. His story is his, but I would like to know it, and write it down for my children, as well as myself, so I can know those experiences that have made him who he is.

Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you.

 

[Normandy]

By all means, ask. If he doesn't want to discuss it, he'll let you know. But he might just be excited by the fact that someone asked.

 

[kcofohio]

My dad was a medic in the Korean War. He was one of the first ones over there, being stations in Japan at the outbreak of the war.

It wasn't until my teenage years that I found M.A.S.H. banner in a closest and learned of his service. He never talked about it for years that I know of.

He is 84 now, and has only started talking about over there in the last 5 years. He is a very modest person, so it has taken a while to get a picture of his experience.

Point being, as our war veterans and heroes advance in age, they each have their own unique story. Some of them, for lack of better words, have come to terms with their worst experiences. And are willing to share at least some of their story.

So, as Normandy said, ask!

 

[Cee Zee]

I would suggest shooting video of him telling his story if you can. Most cell phones take decent video these days. I work with MiniDV video because it isn't compressed which makes it much easier to edit. And you should keep in mind that you will want to edit the video so if something doesn't come out just right do it again. And by all means find a better microphone if you can. The ones that come with phones and even cameras are a joke compared to a good mic. The story will be told by what people hear so you want it to work well. If you don't have access to this kind of stuff you might find a place that rents it or you could even hire someone to shoot the video for you. I've done videos of military stuff. I might even do it for free if I thought it was a worthy cause. For example I know a guy who won the MOH in Korea. I would interview him in a heartbeat for free. I'd almost pay him. But he's been interviewed many times already so I haven't tried to push it.

Write down any questions you want to ask before you start. Either plan to just let him talk or set yourself up asking the questions on the video too. That means another mic. There are places to buy decent mics for under $25 each BTW. I have several like that and I use them often. Now that I look it appears the price has gone up to $40 now. I guess it's been a while since I looked. Look on this web page. One for you and one for the subject would be great. Just one for the subject would work as long as you don't want your own questions on the video.

Ask what years he was there. It makes a big difference in that war. Early on things were much different than later. Ask if he was close to the major battles, what his job was about, how things worked and mainly I'd ask about his friends because soldiers tend to remember those things well. It will lead to stories about the role he played too.

The trick to a good interview is to not ask yes or no questions. Ask him something that will lead him into talking about a subject himself even if you have to ask what you know is a dumb question. Let him correct you and let him jump off from there. You can always edit things later to make it not look like you were unprepared. Again I'd ask him about his friends because generally that's what gets them going because they count so much on each other they form a bond that is unlike anything else.

Some of them, for lack of better words, have come to terms with their worst experiences. And are willing to share at least some of their story.

Often soldiers try to spare civilians from the horrors they have seen. That's a big reason they don't like to talk about what they saw and did. Someone in a HQ setting may be more willing to talk. But someone in a MASH until might clam up their entire lives. Maybe your dad wants you to know what his experience was like so you, as his son, will know. I'd make sure whoever it was was ok with sharing the stories before I did that. Your experience may be different than others of course. It's always good to remember that war is a horrible thing and seeing it was bad enough. Talking about it won't un-ring that bell so many just won't do it.

 

[armedwalleye]

First off, never served myself, but have a deep interest.

I'd want to know more about his own thoughts and feelings at the time, how he and his buddies percieved what they were doing, and some of the difficulties they went through, long marches, weather, supplies, etc. How did they deal with boredom, what did they do in down time, etc. Perhaps the generic discussions will show him you're interested, and he'll share more. I think it's important to know his feelings before you can be able to grasp his experiences. I'd make sure he understands you're not trying to make him relive, just trying to see what shaped the man, his ideals, his thought processes. It would be a wonderful opportunity to connect with him on a different level. Perhaps open the discussion indicating your connection to your father, and this "missing piece" you wish you had explored with him. If your F-I-L is anything like mine was, he'd be honored to stand in the shoes, so to speak, of your own Dad.

 

[jmr40]

My dad graduated HS in 1942. Lived through the depression and was drafted shortly after graduation. For years he would tell stories about growing up, the depression and a bit about his military service. My brother and I knew the stories by heart and in some ways tired of them. After we got married our wives showed much more interest and sort of got dad to talking about the war much more than ever.

After a while we convinced him to start writing the stories. They were in no particular order. He'd just start thinking about all of the cars he'd owned and write 10-15 pages detailing all the cars he'd owned. This went on for about 10-15 years.

My wife compiled the stories and family photos into a book. It isn't that hard, there are some websites that will walk you through the process. Best thing we ever did. Amy finished the book and we had enough copies printed for everyone in the family and gave dad a copy a couple of years before his death almost 2 years ago.

You can view a sample of the book here. I think you can only see the 1st 10-15 pages along with the front and back cover, but you can get an idea. I'd highly recommend more people do something like this. Dad is gone now, but the book his children, grand children and great grand children have is priceless.

Do it now while you can!!!

http://www.blurb.com/b/1731636-the-book-of-john

 

[Ryanxia]

I'm glad I asked my grandfather before he passed about his experiences in WW2. I was young at the time I asked, and didn't get much, but I'll always remember the half dozen stories I did get. My other grandfather is still alive and I've gotten loads of stories from him.
Ask away, starting slow might be good too. General questions; How long were you there for? What was the weather like? When did you enlist? What's the first thing you did when you got home?

People are different, but I've had hours of conversations with people just on the types of guns they were issued or got to see (some people might not want to talk about that, but gun guys in our family never minded).

 

[kayak-man]

Do it. Both of my grandfathers have passed, and while we know quite a few stories from Walt's life, Art didn't share so many. He was a doctor with the SeaBees in WWII, and never spoke much of his time there.

I've got to thank you for posting this. One of my Dad's friends is a WWII vet, and I love hanging out with the guy. When I'm home for the holidays, I think I'll borrow my dad's camcorder and interview him about his life. Super cool Texan with a small but mouthwatering firearms collection: flint lock that he bought at a German castle after the war (he talks about how he had to run a screw down the barrel and pull out the lead ball and powder that was in there), a colt Single Action Army new in box, and I've got to ask him where the sword and mace hanging on his wall came from, and how exactly he ended up competing on the biathlon team in the Olympics after the war.

Sorry for the tangent/thread drift

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

You might also ask him about the day to day activities. How were the meals prepared and served, what did they do when not on duty, or the day to day living conditions. As I have studied more things historical I find that just the toils and rigors of daily life hold as much interest to me as do the major actions people were involved with. Good luck with your efforts.

 

[blindhari]

My wife had an uncle, first generation Sicilian immigrant, who was a big, loud,
swarthy man with six grown children when I met him. 3 years ago I got to talking to him and heard the start of a story about WWII. over the next year and some time with a tape recorder I got the story of a 19 year old who rode out of Pearl Harbor on a Yard Mine Sweeper as "Guns" His responsibilities were two .50 BMG, a deck gun, 20mm stingers on the back, Thompsons, 8 M1911 A1, 4 M1 Garands, and a 1903 A3 for exploding mines. I also got the stories of 7 island openings to include Gualdacanal, Pelieu, and Kwajalien. Not one of his children every asked him about his service. I transcribed to CD and gave one to each of the kids at a reunion. After reading and listening to what was there they gave him a birthday party celebrating his service. I was allowed to get him a ball cap with his boat silhouette and number, they made so many YMS not all were named, and found stripes with his old rank and rating. So here's to the iron men who went to sea in a plywood boat to fight a war under the guns of both sides. They cleared the water and beaches so others could get ashore.

blindhari

 

[bikerdoc]

Dad and uncle shared thier stories only after I came back from Viet Nam. Helped me a lot.

I would caution you not to ask about killing people. Instead ask what was combat like.

 

[sarge83]

My uncle was on occupation duty in Japan with the 24th ID when the Korean war started. He was in 24ID, 21st reg. Dog company. He deployed to Korea on July 4th and within a few of days heard the first sound of someone shooting at him. He was not in Task Force Smith but was in action afterwards. His unit fought in several small battles and skirmishes leading up to the battle of Taejon. His unit was held in reserve for that battle initially but saw heavy action during the battle.

He got to witness general Walker talking with general Dean who was later captured by the North Koreans at Taejon. He said they fought a delaying action all the way to Pusan before they got reinforcements and could stop the North Koreans. He said at some point in the early battles he witnessed what the North Koreans were doing to captured GI's and went into some detail and vowed he would not surrender ever. In the early battles he said the WWII bazooka's they had just bounced off the T34 tanks the Norks had. Only artillery or mines were stopping them.

Once they started their offensive with the Inchon landings his unit went all the way to the Yalu. He went through Pyongyang the North Korean capital and said they tore it all to hell, not pretty like the dear leader has it looking now. He vividly remembered seeing a T34 tank with a US 90mm round in the end of the gun barrel. He said he laughed because it looked just like a banana peeling back in cartoons.

At the Yalu he said they went up and looked off the ridge at the little village below and heard one of the officers ask the CO if they should set up camp in the village and the CO said no, it's not a good defensive position, set up here were we have a good tactical position for now. That night the Chinese hit the US lines he said. Had they been in the village they would have been slaughtered. He said about 1:00a.m. he heard the forward listening post cutting lose but for some reason it didn't bother him and he went back to sleep. About 2:00am his buddy woke him up and said the tanks are firing and all hell was breaking lose. He said for some reason he was calm and finally got up an the unit was loading up in trucks and they simply hauled ass south until they could set up a defensive perimeter.

In one instance his unit stopped to rest and he saw a hut nearby and told his buddy to wake him when they were ready to move he needed some sleep and went in the hut and sacked out. He woke up late in the afternoon and no one was around, they had forgot him. He said they had even taken his pack and carbine. So here he was in the
middle of no where, no pack, no weapon, just his uniform, belt and helmet. He knew the North Koreans were bad to hide in the mountains and come down in the villages at night so it was late in the afternoon so he guessed which way to go and started walking. He crept up on what appeared to be a ROK unit. He was hesitant because the Norks would use their uniforms at times but he figured he had no choice so he found a ROK soldier kind of by himself and walked up in Korean and asked him for a cigarette thinking he would know right quick if he was a Nork by his response and he was ROK thank God.

About that time an American air force major come tearing by in a jeep and he flagged him down. The major was like what the hell are you doing here there are no American units for miles around! He explained and the major said jump in and he took him to his airbase and he said for 3 days he got to eat and socialize with the brass and had a warm bed, they treated him great until they could find out where his unit was. After 3 days they found it and took him in a jeep. His Mom and Dad got a dreaded MIA telegram from the Army, grandpa was on his knees for 3 days in prayer until they got word that he was ok.

Another time in heavy fighting him and a friend were separated from their unit. He said for 3 days they ran up one mountain, down it and back up the next with the North Koreans in pursuit. He said they would get to the top of a mountain and look down and there were the Norks in the village they just left. After 2 days of running he said in a village they ran across a couple of chickens and his buddy wanted to stop, kill, cook and eat them and he talked him into just killing them and heading to the next mt. top first, good thing the Norks would have caught them as they were swarming the village when they got to the top of the mt. They ran for 3 days until they hit US lines safely.

He came home in the summer of 1951 with a bronze star and several other commendations. He had PTSD and struggled with it for nearly two decades and finally came to terms with the war and what happened. He eventually started talking about the war, he was in hand to hand combat and shattered a carbine hitting a Chinese soldier with it and the guy kept on coming until his buddy bayoneted the Chinese soldier.

 

[Red Wind]

A fine idea if your father in law is in agreement. My older brother was in the USMC from 1940 to 1946, going through Guadalcanal and suffering 3 combat wounds and elephantiasis. Injuries so serious that he was evacuated back to San Diego and out of the war. He was a stateside DI from that point onwards.

My other older brother was in the Corps from 1946 to 1952, spending 2 miserable years fighting in Korea. Neither would ever discuss their combat experiences.

They just blocked out all the horrible images. They have both passed on and took their thoughts to the grave. We'll never know their stories.

 

[Elkins45]

My father lost a leg in Korea as well as suffering other serious wounds from a mortar round. He wasn't a big fan of talking about combat, but he would occasionally share an anecdote about basic training in Hawaii, or being in the hospital in Japan, or the months he spent in Walter Reed after returning home. I learned (not in a bad way) at a fairly young age that he didn't want to dwell on it and so I asked very few questions. I remember asking when I was older and knew more about the circumstances where in the country he was when he was wounded, if he was fighting go mostly Koreans or Chinese. I don't remember where, but I remember Chinese.

He died four years ago. I wish I knew more about his service, but I figure if he would have told me if it was important for him that I knew. I think it was more important that I respected his desire not to relive it, since he was reminded of the consequences almost every waking moment.

Gun related content: he HATED the 30 carbine. I'm sure there was a story there but I never wanted to ask.

 

[Tinker]

Elkins,

It might not be a bad thing that you didn't learn more. My dad (like kcofohio's dad) was a medic in the First Cav during Korea. He has a FIDO personality (forget it-drive on) and I think it is from his service in the war. Sure, he'll talk about the fun and some interesting stuff, buddies, ladies, etc. but "won't go there" with other stuff. I think sometimes it might be a better thing to let sleeping dogs sleep. My pop is 80 now and has had a decent life. I personally don't ever want to diminish that.

A few things I did mine from Pop......

Never volunteer for a damn thing.
M1 carbine ain't worth a flip for combat.
Damn the Red Cross.
The M.A.S.H. TV show is a joke.
You can dig yourself a hole with a cup when the shells are popping and folks are shooting at you.
M1 Garand WILL stop a Chinese running at you with a grenade.
Koreans are some of the most amazing/good/hardy people on the earth.
That "thing" about oriental women is not true.

 

[Drail]

There is some awfully good information in that last post. Awfully good. I have spoken with a number of Korean War Vets and they all agreed that the M1 Garand makes an M1 Carbine look like a BB gun. Every one of them that was issued an M1 Carbine immediately "appropiated" themselves a Garand. I also spent a year in South Korea in the 70s and the people are truly amazing, hard working and friendly. And the women are just beautiful.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I hope this does not devolve into the M-1 vs the M-1 Carbine shill again. Two different rifles, two different purposes; why would anyone be surprised they have different results????

 

[bainter1212]

My grandfather is 85 and a Korean War vet. He was drafted and saw hard combat with the 24th Inf Div as a radioman and a recoilless rifle gunner. He NEVER spoke a word about his service until about 6 or 7 yrs ago......then the spigot opened up. It was like all of the anger fell away from him and he was at peace. He talks about killing Chinese soldiers like it was no big deal.
The only thing you can tell that still makes him angry is when he talks about the ceasefire at the end of the war. He says that they pushed hard to gain a few miles during negotiations. He had to witness several buddies die during this short time period and he is still angry that the brass gave all that territory back to the North in the negotiations. My grandpa doesn't get mad easy so it is something to hear him talk about this time period.

As others have stated, he is a "suck it up and move on" type. He went on to raise a large family and never let the war affect anyone he loved. I admire him greatly for this and feel that he is a role model for me. To me this is what being a REAL man is about. Deal with hardship and keep it away from your family.

 

[bainter1212]

Oh and BTW, my grandfather had to go ahead of the lines with a spotter many times to call in artillery strikes. He carried an M2 carbine the entire time and still says he was glad to have it. He was happy to have the full-auto capability and carried lots of extra mags.

 

[HammsBeer]

I've talked at length with my wife's grandfather who's 95 and served 3 years in WWII through North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. Just ask something simple and he will drum up story after story, some of them quite graphic.

He had some personal 8mm film, and my wife had it all recorded and converted to DVD and a video of her asking him questions about the war. She also scanned his old Army photo albums and made a professional printed scrapbook from it.

The chance to ask is now, cause when they are gone the stories and memories go with them.

 

[sarge83]

My uncle had the M1 carbine and decided to keep it instead of getting a garand. To him it being lighter in weight and higher capacity magazine was the difference and his had full auto capability which he liked. He said after one battle was over he came across a Russian burp gun and picked it up and carried it as a back up for a while and decided it was too heavy and chucked it in a rice paddy.

My wife's grandpa was in Korea in the 25th division and he was in the signal corp section running communication lines and repairing breaks in the lines and would find an M1 carbine and carry it around as long as he could until his LT would see it and say Reynolds get rid of that thing and get you a garand!

 

[mikey98e]

My father was in WW2. I wish I had asked more about his life when he was alive. He was awarded a Bronze Star but he never told me why. When I asked he would just gloss over it.
When I was a kid, he would tell me what he would call "war stories" but I don't remember them anymore because that was 50 years ago. I do remember him telling me he was one of the liberators of one of the death camps and couldn't sleep for 2 weeks afterward because it was so horrible.
-mike

 

[Tommygunn]

My uncle had the M1 carbine and decided to keep it instead of getting a garand. To him it being lighter in weight and higher capacity magazine was the difference and his had full auto capability which he liked. He said after one battle was over he came across a Russian burp gun and picked it up and carried it as a back up for a while and decided it was too heavy and chucked it in a rice paddy.

My wife's grandpa was in Korea in the 25th division and he was in the signal corp section running communication lines and repairing breaks in the lines and would find an M1 carbine and carry it around as long as he could until his LT would see it and say Reynolds get rid of that thing and get you a garand!

If it had full auto it was actually an M-2 carbine, and had a 30 round "banana" magazine.

 

[Cee Zee]

Oh and BTW, my grandfather had to go ahead of the lines with a spotter many times to call in artillery strikes. He carried an M2 carbine the entire time and still says he was glad to have it.

I knew a guy who was a forward spotter. He got dropped in by parachute to direct the artillery. He said he was the most sought after target in the war because the enemy knew that guy directing the big guns could really hurt them. He talked about having a 1911 in each hand as he dropped from the sky, shooting at everything that moved more or less. Most of those things were shooting back too.

My uncle was there. he married one of those Korean women. He moved away from home as soon as he got back from the service apparently. I never knew him well. He would call on Christmas and he visited maybe twice in my life. I don't know if my grandmother rejected his wife (wouldn't surprise me) or if he wanted to be near his war buddies (he moved to Kansas from Kentucky) or what the reason was he was so distant from the rest of the family. I wish I had gotten the chance to know him.

BTW I think the "don't get involved unless you have to" attitude that the government almost forced on our soldiers came back to haunt this country later on. People who might normally have stood up for our rights were silent about it in the 60's and 70's. I knew people who came back from Korea and pretty much went along with everything that came along just so they wouldn't have to confront it. I don't blame the soldiers. Not in a million years. I blame the people who ran that war and the one after it and most especially the way they ran those wars. How could they not know they would make the country despise them for sending men to fight and not letting them win? When WWII started people wanted to serve the country. After Korea many people tried every possible way they could think of to avoid it. That was a sea change that has led to our current state where we now have a king. I know this is political stuff but it came from military stuff and the way our soldiers were asked to do the unthinkable - to die for no good reason. I'm not talking about the wars in general. It's the way the wars were fought where the enemy planes couldn't be pursued back to their base and other stuff like that. Or dying for territory that was given up in negotiations a few days later.