The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

My
Year
In
Hell
As you read this story you might
think I kept a diary of what happened
to me in Korea. The fact is
when I was in Korea I had no idea of what
day it was nor did I know where I was at.
We knew what was happening in our
immediate area but had no idea what was
going on around us, even with those units
on our flanks. When the ROKs (Republic
of Korea) were attached to us we had to be
especially alert because they would bug
out at any time and leave us high and dry.
When I came home from Korea I went to
work, just like every other soldier in
Korea and never looked back. In 1988, 37
years later I was notified of a How
Company reunion in Springfield, IL.
Mary Ann & I went to that reunion and
had the best time. Big Ed Baugher wasn’t
there but Don Shelstad was, these were
two of my closest friends in Korea. We
talked about old times for three days and
at the end of the reunion I felt like I had
just came home from Korea. At this
reunion I learned about the 2nd Division
year books. In these books you can follow
your units almost daily trek as to where
you were. These books is where I received
most of the information concerning times
By Ron “Vic” Mossing
In July of 1950 North Korea decided they wanted South
Korea and good old Harry and a bunch of other UN
people decided they didn’t want them to have it.
and places but the personal experiences
are all mine. Someone at the reunion had
an old address for Big Ed. I took the
address and at the time he was drafted he
lived in a little town in Northern Missouri,
I called the information for that town and
asked for Ed but there was no Ed Baugher,
however, the operator said there were
other Baughers listed, there was a Robert
Baugher, I called him and he was Big Ed’s
brother and of course I got Ed’s address
and phone number in Wichita.
In January 1949 1 joined the Army
simply because there was nothing else
going on. I liked the Army and served
about a year when the Army decided it
had too many soldiers and sent me home.
I had enlisted for 21 months, served 12
and was to spend the rest in inactive
reserve.
In July of 1950 North Korea decided
they wanted South Korea and good old
Harry and a bunch of other UN people
decided they didn’t want them to have it.
So, they called back Ron and a lot of other
boys to fight a war for them. In October I
was recalled and sent to Camp Cambell,
Kentucky for a refresher course before
being sent to Korea. The deal was that any
boys being recalled were to serve only a
year portal to portal (home to home). The
first time I was in the Army I did my boot
at Fort Knox, Kentucky and was then sent
to Ft. Lewis Washington and was a rifleman
in the 2nd Division, 38th Regt, 3rd
Battalion, Item Company.
After about a month at Campbell we
were loaded on a train for Ft. Lewis again.
While in Campbell, which was the home
of the 101st Airborne, members of the
101st came to the barracks and talked to
us about joining the 101st, telling us that
by the time we were through training it
would be at least six weeks before we
would head for Korea. A friend who I met
at Campbell and I decided we would join
them but we had until the following
Monday to decide, on the Saturday before
the Monday the 101st had a Regimental
jump right over the base and I seen about
5 guys come all the way, I of course on
Monday refused to join but this other kid
did.
Shortly we were put on the train for Ft.
Lewis, Washington. This train had to be a
holding train because to go to Ft. Lewis,
Washington we went south to Texas, west
to New Mexico and then north to
Washington. We were on the train for at
least two weeks. We were almost immediately
loaded on the boat (The Phoenix)
and headed for Camp Drake in Japan. The
trip was really quite fun, a lot of guys got
sea sick but I never did. We received a
paper when we crossed the International
Date Line and over all I didn’t mind the
ride at all, there was a bunch of us that
played Hearts every day making the time
go fast.
Upon landing at Japan we were outfitted
with clothing for our little
jaunt into Korea. I was given some
wool clothes and told to put them on. It
wasn’t long before I was scratching like
crazy, not knowing what was going on I
went to the Doctor and was told I had the
Crabs, what in the world is the Crabs,
turns out they are a lot like lice. I was
given some blue ointment and returned to
the barracks. I wasn’t in the barracks very
long when a big truck pulled up in front
and came into the barracks and fumigated
it, I was so embarrassed, all the guys knew
what was going on and tried to find out
who had the Crabs, they never did though.
It wasn’t long before we loaded boats
for Korea. It didn’t take very long to reach
Korea. This was about the first part of
December and we were put ashore at
Inchon, this is where the Marines and the
7th Army Division made a landing that
changed the war into our favor. We were
off loaded onto LSD’s and upon landing
on Korean soil I looked up and there was
that boy from Campbell that had joined
the 101st. Upon completion of training
they had flown them to Korea and they
jumped in, he had been there over a week
already.
Continued on page 62
January/February, 2000 Page 43