Jim Kyle's Memoirs of the Korean War

[Doug Loudenback]

Jim Kyle has written his 3rd installment at my blog ... his fascinating personal account of his days before and during the Korean War. Jim is a master writer and story teller and for those of you who would like to see that time (1950-1953) through an Oklahoma Citian's eyes, you will find his remembrances quite fascinating and enduring.

Jim has several photos (from slides which have not yet been processed) which will be added, but here's one that was probably taken shortly after his arrival in Korea. He was still smiling.



Jim was a 2nd LT, Field Artillery, and that meant that he was an artillery forward observer by training (guys who were posted away from their units and near the enemy line and who called in coordinates for artillery fire). Not a safe thing to be. But I'm getting a sense from Jim's writing that he was rather gung-ho, so the smile while in harm's way may actually be genuine. If I was in that photo, I don't think that I'd had been smiling quite so much.

What are your thoughts about that, Jim?

[Maynard]

His story, experience, and account would make for a valuable addition to the Veteran's History Project.

[Doug Loudenback]

Good thought, Maynard. I'll leave that to Jim, however. It's his story, not mine.

[RadicalModerate]

Excellent. Thank you.

My mother was working as a secretary for some general at the Pentagon in 1950.
She once shared a memory of how at one point that year "they" took down the big map of Korea that graced one of the large office walls in order to stop the decline in morale.

I can see by the animated map what she was talking about.

[Jim Kyle]

Jim has several photos (from slides which have not yet been processed) which will be added, but here's one that was probably taken shortly after his arrival in Korea. He was still smiling.

Jim was a 2nd LT, Field Artillery, and that meant that he was an artillery forward observer by training (guys who were posted away from their units and near the enemy line and who called in coordinates for artillery fire). Not a safe thing to be. But I'm getting a sense from Jim's writing that he was rather gung-ho, so the smile while in harm's way may actually be genuine. If I was in that photo, I don't think that I'd had been smiling quite so much.

What are your thoughts about that, Jim?

This shot was for sending back home so I dolled up with my artillery-red scarf and said "Cheese" while Smitty (Cpl. Richard Smith, my assistant and driver) snapped the shutter. Actually there were only a few times that I felt sorta gung-ho; most of the time it felt more like I was playing a role in a bad war movie!

[Doug Loudenback]

Excellent. Thank you.

My mother was working as a secretary for some general at the Pentagon in 1950.
She once shared a memory of how at one point that year "they" took down the big map of Korea that graced one of the large office walls in order to stop the decline in morale.

I can see by the animated map what she was talking about.

I'll post that animated gif here, done by Matthew White.



If it is/was accurate, the first couple of months of the Korean war were dreadful and I can see why you said what you did. According to that image, the "low tide" of the South Korean position looked like this:



South Korea was almost wiped away.

But the UN (mainly American) forces got engaged and the tide changed ...



And it is apparently at that point in October 1950 that the mainland/communist Chinese entered the fray with 320,000-340,000 combatants. Part of the area immediately above the Yalu River, west side, was Manchuria ... from which came the the great 1962 movie, The Manchurian Candidate. Produced and owned by Frank Sinatra, he pulled the movie for many years although it is now readily available.

If you've not seen that movie, it is one of the best political/war thrillers that has ever been made, in my opinion. I haven't seen the 2004 remake staring Denzel Washington (and he has never made a movie that I've not enjoyed) so I'm not comparing the original to the remake.

[Doug Loudenback]

Jim's article now been augmented and completed with scans of 29 35mm slides that he took during his military duty. I'll show a few below:

A 50 gallon drum napalm demonstration during CBR training, in Japan



The "Kcomz" between Seoul & Chunchon, April 1953



Freedom Bridge between Munsan and Panmunjom, July 1953



A river on the way to Chorwon, 1953



Sunrise over the Pacific

[MadMonk]

Facinating reading. Thanks Jim and Doug!

[capitalhillkid]

I remember the son of family friends coming to our house when he returned from duty in Korea. He was in his early 20's. He told us about how the North Korean POW's would keep discipline among themselves. When someone disobeyed their internal power structure, they were decapitated. He said, "We never heard anything, we would just find a head thrown over the fence the next morning." He said there was no way of finding out information about it, they wouldn't say a thing, they didn't dare. I wish I could recall more of what he said, but to a little kid that image made a huge impression. I thought of it later when I saw "The Manchurian Candidate."