Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

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Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

I got the general story of my grandfather�s time in Korea in his own words

PFC James McGinty* posted:

There really isn�t much of a story. After basic training I arrived in Korea at Inchon in june �51. That�s where Gen, MacArthur invaded South Korea after the North Korean Army surged down to Pusan at the southern tip of South Korea. That invasion cut off most of the North Korean Army from any supplies or route of escape. After arriving in Inchon. that night

we were greeted by someone from N.K. flying in a small plane drooping hand grenades The next morning I went south on a train top Tague and was assigned to the Tague Military Command.. When I wen to Korea my MOS (Military Occupation Code) was for Graves Registration which involves identifying the dead. Fortunately, I never did that. I was assigned to a Quonset hut along with a tech sgt. Our job was to receive and ship anything coming to or leaving TMC.

As for activities , when a train arrive ,we had a crew of 3 Korean men who did al the work, of loading and unloading. All I did was supervise Then it was my job to notify the units that they had some freight and come pick it up. We also accepted freight from the units to be shipped else where.

We had our meals with the railroad troops who came mostly out of Pennsylvania worked for the Pennsylvania a Railroaded and were members of the Pennsylvania National Guard..

I met a guy from Queens NY and his job was to build machine gun mounts in empty coal cars, Meeting someone from the next door county was like meeting a next door neighbor when your half way around the world.. Every American operated had a sand loaded coal car up front, , to take the shock of a ground explosion, the 2nd car was the machine gun car to repell any ground attack.. All American trains were pulled by what we used at that time as switch engines., used to switch trains in a rail yard..F We were notified in advance when a train was due to arrive so we basically worked around the clock.

As for free time, o we didn�t have much but with2 of us on duty all the time

One would cover for the other. I went to a USO shoe one time, hitching a ride with the rail rid detachment and another time I was invited ti the British detachment for a farewell party for some of there members that we regularly did business with but that�s about all. In the nice weather we� would just sit outside enjoying the movement of anything that was going on. In the cold weather we would mainly stay indoors except when we hsd to meet a train. One Christmas eve a Lieutenant went down to Pusan and brought back various amounts of alcohol, depending on what you ordered and we had a Very Merry Christmas..

A week later on December 31st I was on a ship pulling out of Pusan South Korea. I didn�t arrive home until Jan. 26th and I was out of the Army.

My Mother died while I was in Kprea and my younger sister moved in with my elder sister and my elder sister found a room for me to rent Six months and 6 days later I married your grandmother and thus started the happiest part of ny life.

THE END

*he told me to use his real name and rank and I think I juuuust got him to not do his dog tag serial number.

Also don�t mind the typos, the man is 91.

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Jan 3, 2021

# ¿ Jan 3, 2021 06:17

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 09:11

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

I seem to recall this was at least in part because the survivor did not have his shield, meaning that he'd ditched it to flee the battle faster. If you've ever heard the phrase "come back with your shield, or on it", that's what it means: either die honorably in battle and be carried back on your shield by your compatriots, or at least do not run away.

(As with many stories of ancient Greece, this is likely apocryphal)

If you�re like �both of those sound like Sparta�, you�re right.

The rest of Greece wasn�t much better, if you read the Iliad it�s like � :stare:

All these guys would be the villain in anything else. �

# ¿ Jan 3, 2021 16:27

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

FastestGunAlive posted:

Thanks for sharing this, glad he was able to share this with you.

This is actually the first time he told basically anyone about what it was like in Korea, we had some photos but he never talked about it.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2021 17:08

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Pryor on Fire posted:

I don't know much of anything about Korea but I have trouble believing anyone would have attempted to throw grenades from airplanes at that point in time. Could he be misremembering some other projectile?

I don't want you to interrogate your grandfather about mundane weapon systems, but I guess I'm more just asking the thread how historians verify some detail like this that is plausible but weird?

The North Koreans used Po-2 biplanes for raids like that all the time, it�s something that they picked up from the Soviets who did it a lot in WWII.

From Wikipedia:

quote:

The Polish Air Force used these slow and manoeuvrable aircraft for air reconnaissance and COIN operations against UPA detachments in mountainous area of Bieszczady. Pilots and navigators were dispatched to look for concentrations of UPA forces and if needed, engage them with machine guns and grenades. On several occasions, the UPA managed to bring down some of the Po-2s, but never captured or operated them.[10]

North Korean forces used the Po-2 in a similar role during the Korean War. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the Korean People's Air Force, inflicting serious damage during night raids on United Nations bases.[11] During one such attack, a lone Po-2 attacked Pyongyang airfield in northwestern Korea. Concentrating on the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group's parking ramp, the Po-2 dropped a string of fragmentation bombs squarely across the group's lineup of P-51 Mustangs. Eleven Mustangs were damaged, three so badly that they were destroyed when Pyongyang was abandoned several days later.

On 17 June 1951, at 01:30 hours, Suwon Air Base was bombed by two Po-2s. Each biplane dropped a pair of fragmentation bombs. One scored a hit on the 802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion's motor pool, damaging some equipment. Two bombs burst on the flightline of the 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. One F-86A Sabre (FU-334 / 49-1334) was struck on the wing and began burning. The fire took hold, gutting the aircraft. Prompt action by personnel who moved aircraft away from the burning Sabre prevented further loss. Eight other Sabres were damaged in the brief attack, four seriously. One F-86 pilot was among the wounded. The North Koreans subsequently credited Lt. La Woon Yung with this damaging attack.[12]

UN forces named the Po-2's nighttime appearance Bedcheck Charlie and had great difficulty in shooting it down � even though night fighters had radar as standard equipment in the 1950s. The wood-and-fabric material of the Po-2 had only a small radar cross-section, making it hard for an opposing fighter pilot to acquire his target. As Korean war U.S. veteran Leo Fournier remarked about "Bedcheck Charlie" in his memoirs: "... no one could get at him. He just flew too low and too slow." On 16 June 1953, a USMC AD-4 from VMC-1 piloted by Major George H. Linnemeier and CWO Vernon S. Kramer shot down a Soviet-built Polikarpov Po-2 biplane, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war. The Po-2 is also the only biplane credited with a documented jet-kill, as one Lockheed F-94 Starfire was lost while slowing down to 161 km/h (100 mph) � below its stall speed � during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2.[13][/13]

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jan 3, 2021

# ¿ Jan 3, 2021 18:57

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

So I found the slides from my grandfather�s USO show in Korea. Is there a good way to turn those into images I can post here and archive?

# ¿ Feb 7, 2021 02:27

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Cool, I�ll just pay for the actual service then. I�ll post all the Korean War ones here when I have them finished! I know the USO ones are in this box but there�s some more from there in there and I have no idea what they are.

E:also trying to get some of my great uncle�s WW2 stuff digitized and I�ll drop those here too if I get em. He was a b24 copilot who missed death by being too sick to fly not once but twice.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2021 13:10

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

aphid_licker posted:

Da field artillery song is catchy as gently caress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJybwgtR970

Blood on the risers is better. :colbert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XayVafPHfgQ

# ¿ Feb 7, 2021 21:59

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Anyone got questions I should ask my grandfather about the Korean War when I see him this weekend?

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:20

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Nenonen posted:

How many in his unit were lost to exposure to the cruelest biological weaponry, a.k.a ?

He still doesn�t eat kimchi because in his words, he�s still sick of it.

E:even at 91 he�ll still house a plate of kalbi though.

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 10:32 on Feb 8, 2021

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:29

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Tias posted:

We're already learning that the formerly mythic state of "too much kimchi" really exists :o Fascinating!

What was the best about being there, and what was the worst? Recognizing that he might not want to answer the latter, of course.

Worst I already know his answer to- the cold. I�ll find out what the best part was though!

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:33

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Ask him if he's written memoirs or has personal papers because archives love that sort of thing, especially if he had a non-"tip of the spear" sort of job.

He hasn�t written much down, he just started talking about this and he�s lovely about typing. Might see if he�ll record some stories and then I�ll transcribe them though.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:34

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

especially if he had a non-"tip of the spear" sort of job.

He was a clerk who never really saw combat and that�s part of why he never talked about it.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:37

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Historians care about what clerks did too. Tell him that.

He knows, it�s why he�s actually started talking about it in the last few months. He knows that even though he�s healthy, at 91 who knows when you�re going to cash out so you may as well tell your story even though you personally don�t think it�s exciting.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 10:41

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

... my grandfather might get an account here to talk about Korea.

Gotta do an effort post about my great uncles time in the 485th bomber group.

He bombed Hitler on that poo poo�s birthday.

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 14:01 on Feb 14, 2021

# ¿ Feb 14, 2021 13:58

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

quote:

We�ll give it a try but at 91 yrars of age and poor eyesitght it takes me a lot longer today to type on the computer and if I find it�s too much of a chore I�ll just give it up..

He�s up for questions about Korea and being a Pogue

# ¿ Feb 14, 2021 18:47

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

A lot of you asked some great questions last week and my grandfather is working on them but it�s gonna be a minute. Like I said, dude is 91. He was awful at typing even when he was in his sixties.

E:he has an account here now and I�m trying to get a photo of him in Korea as his av.

Pretty sure he�s the oldest goon by a wide margin.

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 11:10 on Feb 21, 2021

# ¿ Feb 21, 2021 10:21

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Snowy posted:

I posted this in the sagas thread but that 91 year old goon definitely deserves his own thread, I think a lot of people would be interested.

He used to pick up an actual bucket of beer for his father as a random errand when he was a kid.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2021 16:06

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Got my grandfather to maybe; maaaaybe talk about Korea again.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2021 09:19

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Roughly D day

My Uncle Tom used to have tons of stories about flying B24s over Italy� but he literally was only alive when he got sick and his normal plane crashed. Then a few months later he had food poisoning and his plane craned.

It was seriously �If Tom Roemer is flying, do not get on that plane�

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 10:43 on Jun 14, 2021

# ¿ Jun 14, 2021 10:39

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Looking at little round top which is almost entirely some bullshit.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2021 11:15

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Ugly In The Morning posted:

Oh drat the photo actually went through. That�s my grandfather in fifty one as a Korea draftee

I have some photos from my grandfather�s time in Korea.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2021 09:32

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

SeanBeansShako posted:

What was the travel to Korea like? how were your interactions with the South Korean and other nations armies?

He talked about the travel from Korea like a hundred pages ago:

quote:

There really isn�t much of a story. After basic training I arrived in Korea at Inchon in june �51. That�s where Gen, MacArthur invaded South Korea after the North Korean Army surged down to Pusan at the southern tip of South Korea. That invasion cut off most of the North Korean Army from any supplies or route of escape. After arriving in Inchon. that night

we were greeted by someone from N.K. flying in a small plane drooping hand grenades The next morning I went south on a train top Tague and was assigned to the Tague Military Command.. When I wen to Korea my MOS (Military Occupation Code) was for Graves Registration which involves identifying the dead. Fortunately, I never did that. I was assigned to a Quonset hut along with a tech sgt. Our job was to receive and ship anything coming to or leaving TMC.

As for activities , when a train arrive ,we had a crew of 3 Korean men who did al the work, of loading and unloading. All I did was supervise Then it was my job to notify the units that they had some freight and come pick it up. We also accepted freight from the units to be shipped else where.

We had our meals with the railroad troops who came mostly out of Pennsylvania worked for the Pennsylvania a Railroaded and were members of the Pennsylvania National Guard..

I met a guy from Queens NY and his job was to build machine gun mounts in empty coal cars, Meeting someone from the next door county was like meeting a next door neighbor when your half way around the world.. Every American operated had a sand loaded coal car up front, , to take the shock of a ground explosion, the 2nd car was the machine gun car to repell any ground attack.. All American trains were pulled by what we used at that time as switch engines., used to switch trains in a rail yard..F We were notified in advance when a train was due to arrive so we basically worked around the clock.

As for free time, o we didn�t have much but with2 of us on duty all the time

One would cover for the other. I went to a USO shoe one time, hitching a ride with the rail rid detachment and another time I was invited ti the British detachment for a farewell party for some of there members that we regularly did business with but that�s about all. In the nice weather we� would just sit outside enjoying the movement of anything that was going on. In the cold weather we would mainly stay indoors except when we hsd to meet a train. One Christmas eve a Lieutenant went down to Pusan and brought back various amounts of alcohol, depending on what you ordered and we had a Very Merry Christmas..

A week later on December 31st I was on a ship pulling out of Pusan South Korea. I didn�t arrive home until Jan. 26th and I was out of the Army.

My Mother died while I was in Kprea and my younger sister moved in with my elder sister and my elder sister found a room for me to rent Six months and 6 days later I married your grandmother and thus started the happiest part of ny life.

THE END

He seriously has gotten into this thread and the whole thing that the most interesting part of milhist is the people that weren�t on the front lines.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2021 15:21

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Gaius Marius posted:

I was just gonna bring up the constitution.
But also. Is the m1911 not technically still in service?

It was retired in 85.

stealie72 posted:

Also the B-52 that will likely see 100 years of service.

There are pilots where three generations have all flown the same airframe. The B52 is nuts.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2021 06:13

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

The Lone Badger posted:

There's also the fact that absolutely everyone knows the quirks of the M2 and how to work around them.

This is huge. When my ambulance service replaced our decrepit toughbooks it was a major problem since even though the replacements were better in every way, all the minor problems were completely different so people had major issues troubleshooting under pressure.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2021 12:56

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

What does the 6.8mm proposals bring that something like 6.5mm creedmoor doesn�t?

# ¿ Jul 12, 2021 18:13

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

creedmoor is a lovely cartridge for fighting wars, it's extremely long and it's heavily necked which makes for all kinds of reliability and storage / handling issues

edit: in contrast 6.8 SPC is exactly the same OAL as the 5.56x45 which makes a litany of logistical and equipment tasks much, much easier

I figured it was something like that. 6.5mm was like magic when I was shooting it but I was also doing it from a bolt action that I completely baby, not a semi auto that had been dragged through muck.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2021 18:33

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Beardless posted:

It could very well have been a B-17, there are still a few flying that travel around to various air shows.

There was an accident with one I think last spring? Time is a blur now but the Collings Foundation definitely has/had one.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2021 03:41

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Looks like it was the Collings Foundation one that crashed, they no longer have it listed on their site.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2021 03:49

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Cessna posted:

Some high performance engines just - leak. They're designed to be sealed when the engine is running hot; heat leads to expansion which closes gaps - but when they're cool they drip.

The SR71 comes to mind; it oozes when it�s cold.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2021 16:01

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Any questions for the survivors of the 485th bomb group? My mom does stuff with them every year. My great uncle flew with them in the 40�s and was only alive because of sick days at the right time.

He was a B24 co pilot and super chill with my brother and I when we asked about him bombing nazi�s.

Ugly In The Morning fucked around with this message at 09:35 on Jul 27, 2021

# ¿ Jul 27, 2021 09:32

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Jobbo_Fett posted:

Did he have a lucky charm/talisman and, if so, what was it?
Did he have any superstitions/habits he did to ensure a safe flight?

Same goes to the rest of the group.

So he will deny the lucky charm/talisman thing but I know that one too well from trips when I was a kid:He had a constellation model airplane in his sunroom and he spent like two decades shooting geese with an air pistol in North Carolina.

Uncle Tom was his brother in law that often didn�t talk directly about his WWII experiences as a B24 copilot. He did bomb Germany on Hitlers Birthday though. He was incredibly smart and I miss him all the time.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2021 09:55

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Ugly In The Morning posted:

So he will deny the lucky charm/talisman thing but I know that one too well from trips when I was a kid:He had a constellation model airplane in his sunroom and he spent like two decades shooting geese with an air pistol in North Carolina.

Uncle Tom was his brother in law that often didn�t talk directly about his WWII experiences as a B24 copilot. He did bomb Germany on Hitlers Birthday though. He was incredibly smart and I miss him all the time.

Aunt Babe was the racist one- she had some severe brain tumors and Uncle Tom Was with her to the end but it was� bad. My mom, brother and I used to go there to hang with Uncle Tom and play cribbage. They both had a� rough end.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2021 09:57

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Jobbo_Fett posted:

drat, I'm sorry to hear that. My great grandfather was a B24 nose gunner out hunting subs at the end of the war. Never talked about his service. Got sick one day and was swept up by Florida's private health care system and didn't make it out alive.

gently caress Florida

Uncle Tom never let us know either. Just got way too into Solitare once and always was on point on giving my brother and I root beer.

He was a funny as hell guy and never realized how much of his sense of humor was just straight up pain.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2021 10:08

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

My grandfather is gonna try to come back this afternoon if anyone has any questions about the boring side of Korea.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 01:30

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Hyrax Attack! posted:

An MiG-21 shot down a B-52 in 1972 at 30,000ft but that was with missiles launched 2km away. I'm no expert but with B-52 cruise speed at 509 mph and the 109 maxing out at about 400mph, and with surface ceilings of 50,000ft and 39,000ft, doesn't seem likely they'd have to worry about 109s especially if they were aware they were out there. I suppose the 109s could attack them during landings or takeoffs but that would also be true of biplanes.

The 109�s at least carried significantly higher caliber guns than biplanes though I guess the biplanes can drop bombs and grenades.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 23:31

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Nebakenezzer posted:

This rumor about the M1s having sandblasted their own turbines into scrap into the first Gulf war is one I keep hearing; I can't decide if it is a rumor like the M4s being deathtraps or actually having some truth.

Those turbines are insanely durable, so I�m thinking it�s more like the M4 rumor.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2021 00:20

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Valtonen posted:

Yea one look at the NTC wreck Collection yards after every ABCT rotation speaks otherwise. Compared to diesels they are not, that much I can personally attest having operated Leo 2 and and an m1a2.

The turbines are *durable* but once the airflow gets restricted too much they either loose power or start cooking the oils or -usually with one leading to other due to operator fault and mission comes first- mentality- both.

I�m used to LNG turbines which are kinda prima donnas

# ¿ Aug 17, 2021 00:55

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

Anyone got any more questions for a Korean War supply clerk? My grandfather moved into assisted living and enjoyed answering those last summer.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2022 05:05

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

PFC James McGinty posted:

I was in Tague
I didn't like my sergeant (he was okay but....he wasn't a people person)
getting to korea: basic training fort jackson SC, given orders to go to San Francisco by train, then got on the ship (I have pics) it was a converted freighter turned into a troop transport. We stopped in Adak AK to refuel...then went on a five mile hike during this stop, then to Japan (not sure where...yokohama maybe) put on another ship to Inchon So Korea, one night here with lots of small planes flying overhead dropping hand grenades. Next morning train to Tague. We reported to Tague military command. Assigned to a tin hut at the railroad tracks. We were introduced to the korean workers who loaded and unloaded incoming and outgoing freight. 2 shifts of korean help (12 hours each) trains came in the day and night (2 times for freight) but ambulance trains would go through throughout the day. Of note, if south koreans were injured at all they were discharged so there were alot of "shot in the foot" injuries...Americans however, went back in to battle
Command would give them the supplies they needed for clerk duties.
As for interactions with other armies, it was mostly British that would come by for supplies. They were the only foreign military in Tague. We had such a good relationship, I got in trouble one time! as one british was being sent back I was invited to the farewell party, we picked him up and on the way back at 2am we all got stopped by the MPs and it was past curfew. I got reprimanded by the officer in charge (to whom I failed to salute) for not saluting and being out past curfew....no further punishment.
I made friends with alot of the british soldiers that came by for shipments.

My grandfather has been a bit on the dementia side lately so my mom and I really appreciate the questions a lot of you asked him when he showed up for this thread.

He didn�t even tell family a lot of this stuff

# ¿ Nov 12, 2022 09:52

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 09:11

Ugly In The Morning: Jul 1, 2010; Pillbug

PFC James McGinty died of liver cancer at the age of 93, but he did enjoy the questions here.

He left his Korean War pictures to get digitized though- my mom and I are going through his old photos and will put them in this thread when we have them set up.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2023 09:17

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

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