Korean War era service
After using his GI Bill education benefits, he reenlisted in the Army in 1949. He was soon assigned to the 5th Regimental Combat Team, stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawai‘i. This meant he was on the first ships out of Pearl Harbor when the Korean War started.
When the 5th RCT had been in Korea a year and most of the troops on that initial deployment returned to Hawai‘i, my father transferred to the 24th Infantry Regiment service company and stayed in Korea even longer.
For his service in Korea, my father was awarded the following:
- Korean Service Medal with 6 bronze service stars
- Distinguished Unit Emblem (Distinguished Service Unit Award, now the Presidential Unit Citation)
- United Nations Service Medal
- Distinguished Service Unit Award from the Republic of South Korea
- Korean War Service Medal from the Republic of South Korea
After returning home from Korea and marrying my mother, my father then served the rest of his enlistment at the US Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was a military overseer that taught prisoners printing. This resulted to a family joke: my father was at Leavenworth.
