JMJ

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Yong Dong Po, South Korea -1951

Inchon Korea 1951
After we left the landing craft we walked across a field and I saw a small building.What made it so unusall was that it was full of holes made by shells. There well holes of all sizes.Then we continued walking a truck took us to an abandoned factory.there was barb wire in one area. The sun was going down when we got inside on the bottom floor. The first thing I was told to do was "grab a piece of cement", in other words no bed, no tent, just sleep on the concrete floor,which I did.

During the night some soldiers went on patrols. The more seasoned soldiers. The next day were still at the factory. Years later I would find out that town was Yong Dong Po.(as close as I can get to the spelling but that is the way it is pronounced). But it was that night at the dinner meal, We were able to get cooked meals and we used our mess kits to put the food in..Outside
the factory on one side was a row of trash cans that we put what we did not eat in them. I had scraped my mess kit clean in a garbage can and going back in the factory when I heard voices and people walking I hid myself by the doorway and looked..The people were coming from the village.They went to the garbage cans. I saw one man pull out a piece of meat. Other putting there hands in the carbage cans pulling out what they could find. Ill never forget that scene. It was my first lesson in what war can do.

2 comments:

  1. Hello, I found this post when i searched Yong Dong Po. Just Last night my father was telling stories from when he was stationed there. He told of guarding the grave train. A train with refrigerated car holding the dead solders bodies to be shipped home. the Koreans would see a refrigerated car and think there was food in it and would try to break into it. and that's why they would have shifts guarding the train of the dead. truly sad how bad life is for those in war torn areas. Matt

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  2. was there inlast part 1951 all of 1952. about quarter mile from kimpo air base, know the area well,

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