Korean War veteran remembers fighting . Today marks the 6. Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, which touched off the three- year conflict, and entrance of the United Nations and the U. S. He would rather have joined the Air Force. The reluctant soldier was sent to train at Camp Roberts in central California. Conditions in the camp were less than sparkling. The camp, shut down after World War II, was in disrepair. Armijo and his comrades were made to clean it. Grouped with other Hispanic New Mexicans, Armijo didn’t notice he and his friends looked different from others in the camp until they lined up outside the barracks for their first day of training.“After a while, the sun started coming out,” Armijo recalled. As dawn broke, the drill sergeant was dismayed to behold a large group of mustachioed Hispanic soldiers. The Mexican National Guard?'”Armijo, who did not have a mustache, remembers the situation with humor.“The next morning, he went, . In April 1952 Mas Oyama and Kokichi Endo flew in to Chicago to begin a tour of. Mas Oyama's name also came into. I thought this time we had no way out. When we came under fire he marched up and down playing his pipes the whole time we were. Jungle scenes of fighting for food! I came out of this almost without a scratch. We carried out several field experiments. Korean War (1952) BIO TERROR BIBLE.COM. They came out of the bombs dropped by the American bastards. When he found out that I was Spanish, he never talked to me again,” he said sadly. A military band honored the departing soldiers with a sarcastic farewell.“When we left on the boat, the band sang us a song . The humor in it.”Armijo arrived on the Korean peninsula after a voyage on stormy seas. The weather in Korea was also inclement.“It rained for about two months,” he said. But you were just as wet on your clothes as the poncho was on the outside because of the humidity.”The soldiers docked in the Busan region and journeyed north via railcar.“We were moving toward the front line. Then, during the night, we backed up. Heaven knows how much we backed up,” he said, describing the trip as cold and uncomfortable. Armijo passed the 3. Parallel, which divides North Korea from South Korea. He remembered North Korea as extremely cold in winter.“We were fighting for hills. There were a whole bunch of little hills that we’d take. Then they’d take them back,” he said. He described the Chinese as formidable opponents.“They (the Chinese) would go for execution style,” he described. That’s when it was safe.”South Koreans tried to escape the violence. They’d go wherever there was no shooting,” he said. Since the front lines changed constantly, Armijo saw the same Korean families fleeing in different directions each day. Using a pair of hooks, they fished cans out and opened them with tiny tools on their dogtags.“That’s what they called a hot meal!”Armijo looked forward to treats from home. American History: The Election of 1952. These documents were fed out of the State Department. We haven’t enough tanks for the fighting in Korea. There were a couple of tortillas in a package.” He protected his chile and tortillas by eating them in secret, since soldiers raided each other’s packages.“Those guys would steal each other’s food,” he said, amused. Next thing you know, you’re asking, . By then, they were pretty accustomed to the (American) soldiers being there.” He was stationed in northerly Hokkaido, far from the urban jungle of postwar Tokyo.“I right away found a girlfriend, Yoshiko,” he said wistfully. One afternoon, Yoshiko asked Armijo to take her to the cinema to see “The Japanese War Bride,” directed by King Vidor. The 1. 95. 2 film tells the story of an American soldier who brings his Japanese bride home to the U. S., where she is mistreated by his relatives. While critics claim the film promoted interracial relationships, Armijo’s girlfriend had a negative reaction. She was short; I was taller. I was trying to stay under her umbrella but she kept turning it on me.” Noticing his girlfriend was angry, Armijo asked her what was the matter.“You Americans . Yoshiko answered, glaring at him. Armijo was amused by the memory. And she left me out in the rain!”Although Yoshiko later apologized, she still avoided Armijo in the rain . Driven by a bicyclist, the rickshaw ran afoul of a snowdrift.“We came to a railroad crossing and the snow had built up. The guy couldn’t pull it. He soon discovered that he couldn’t transport it via plane and he felt forced to give the liquor away to anyone who would take it.“There was an old (American) soldier who asked me, . Later, he returned to South Korea.“When I got back, they said, . Worried that someone at home in the U. S. They got me on a truck and I traveled all night. Before I knew it, I was on an airplane.”Armijo and other soldiers were flown to the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they were finally told they were being sent home.“I left in ’5. They didn’t get things steady (in Korea) till about ’5. Their uniforms were tattered, their pants sewn with Korean telephone wire and their clothing caked with mud. The dirty infantrymen lined up beside Air Force officers in trim uniforms as they waited for the kitchen to open. Needless to say, the spectacle drew attention.“People noticed,” Armijo said. Where are you coming from?’ As soon as they found out we were coming from Korea, the place (mess hall) opened and we had a run at it!”Armijo didn’t feel changed by his experiences . He guessed the stars were awarded for something he did during the fighting in May 1. Instead, Armijo regards the Bronze Stars with a sense of humor.“I told a guy, ?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2017
Categories |