My name is John. I am a sailmaker. I make things for perfectly good boats that sink on purpose. I am here on my dad's behalf. He was one of you. He told me about this officer he trained under,Major Dick Winters ,being was what an officer was supposed to be , long before Band of Brothers came along. I like that you sniff out wannabes and phonies.
My dad joined in Nov. 1950, volunteered for airborne, rangers , and combat. He was a BAR man and used a 50 CAL. He was originally 82nd ,but, he said they got absorbed by the 101st.He told me that once when they were bringing one of their hard charging new lieutenants down off of Old Baldy ,tied together with a rain coat. He got the bad news that he was co. C.O..He said he learned to take the slings on the BARs and loop them onto his feet ,so, he could shoot two at once.He said there were so many chinese that he had to be able to lay down massive fire.He described the barrel turning orange and starting to wilt on his BAR, so. he would take out his asbestos glove and barrel wrench, change it and go back to work. He said nobody was coming to get them , because, nobody knew where they were ,and , the army would'nt go where the rangers went. He told me that his company went on mostly two and three day reconnaisance patrols above the thirty eighth parallel, they would contact the enemy and hope air support showed up. He was hit by shrapnel in the appendix , got peritonitis , and wound up stateside for a while. He had a couple of jumps in Ger. where his chute froze and did'nt properly open , broke his ankles .He got out in 1955 as a Master SGT.
Thirty years later he found out he had two fused vertebra and a cracked shoulder blade. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with nerve damage in his hands. The doctor wanted to know how long he had run a jackhammer, never could understand why someone would fire automatic weapons that much.
He lost his medals , uniform, patches , and records along with his home in hurricane Hugo. The National Archives lost their copy in the fire of 1973.I am sorry I don't know more . It took fourty years of prying to get this much out of him. Korea just was'nt something he talked about, and , now he's gone and there is noone for me to ask.
Thanks for listening, John
introduction
Moderator: Site Admin
You have the quick draw tonight!RTO wrote:John,
Thank you for joining our site. Welcome, and thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like your father was an amazing man and I am saddened to hear of his passing.
rgrking
RS2 1995 -1996
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
RS2 1995 -1996
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8
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Copperhead
- Tadpole
- Posts: 385
- Joined: July 8th, 2007, 1:55 pm
Welcome to the site John. Your father sounds like a true patriot, I'm sorry to hear about his passing.
PM inbound.
-Caleb
PM inbound.
-Caleb
"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."
-Mario Andretti
-Mario Andretti
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Ranger Bill
- Ranger
- Posts: 7009
- Joined: December 12th, 2005, 3:48 pm
Welcome, John. You may be able to learn more about your father and even contact some of the men he served with. Check out the website of RICA - Ranger Infantry Companies (Airborne) of the Korean War Association http://www.ricarangers.org/.
WE NEED MORE RANGERS!
http://www.75thrra.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mentor to Pellet2007, ChaoticGood & RFS1307
Ranger School Class 3-69
7th Special Forces Group
K Company (Ranger) 75th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Infantry Division
82d Airborne Division
12th Special Forces Group
http://www.75thrra.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mentor to Pellet2007, ChaoticGood & RFS1307
Ranger School Class 3-69
7th Special Forces Group
K Company (Ranger) 75th Infantry (Airborne)
4th Infantry Division
82d Airborne Division
12th Special Forces Group
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Copperhead
- Tadpole
- Posts: 385
- Joined: July 8th, 2007, 1:55 pm