Page 38 - Discover Fall 2022
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Home Town Hero CONTINUED
of the planet. Along the way, they made port including me thought it was a smoke screen,
at Norfolk, VA, Charleston, SC, and made a and the North Koreans were preparing for an
stopover in Puerto Rico to pick up a regiment attack. That was the scariest thing I remember
of Puerto Rican soldiers. The ship carried about being over there. Thank God nothing
them through the Panama Canal, Hawaii, and came of it.”
Japan. Finally, they boarded a landing craft
Fourteen months is a long time for
that would take them to the shores of Inchon,
anyone to be overseas. The Army did the
South Korea.
best they could to keep the soldiers’ morale
“With so many days out on that ship, boosted. On one occasion, the USO put on
I thought somewhere they might have put a show in which Marilyn Monroe was the
me in the Navy and just didn’t tell me”, he main attraction. Alfred told me that he felt
explained with a sigh of relief. fortunate that he was able to be present for
such a show, one that he would never forget.
They neared the Korean coast with
an uncertain future, but shortly before they Halfway through his tour of duty,
landed on a beach, on July 27th, 1953 at 10 he received two weeks of R and R (rest and
AM, the armistice was signed and the Korean relaxation) in Okinawa, Japan. He enjoyed
war was declared officially over. He stated “I some well-deserved downtime, walking the
thank God to this day that they signed that streets, taking in the sights, and relaxing
treaty before we got there.” With World War before going back to the front lines to
II still fresh in everyone’s minds, the horrors complete the remainder of his tour of duty.
of war had been avoided for those men. Finally, after many months of standing at the
ready, pulling duty, and “toting around that
Nonetheless, even with the war now
heavy BAR”, Alfred and his regiment received
officially at a “cease fire”, many tasks still had
orders that they would be pulled off the line
to be accomplished before American troops
and sent home. They spent four months in
would pull out of the region. So, Alfred was
Okinawa, and then were flown back stateside.
now a part of the occupational forces. During
the 14 months that he spent in Korea, they The Army had called Mr. Dooley
were still always on alert; they had to maintain away, and sent him off to fight a war that
a constant state of readiness. His regiment would be over before he landed on the
was sent straight to the front lines on the beach; nevertheless, he answered the call,
38th parallel, where they could still see North did his job, and served his country with
Korean soldiers on the mountains every day, honor. Along his journey, he achieved the
staring back at them. rank of Staff Sergeant and was awarded the
National Defense Medal, United Nations
Always on high alert, he recalled, “One
Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, and
evening while I was standing guard duty, a
Good Conduct Medal. No longer in need
thick fog came over the area, and everyone
36 Discover Smith Mountain Lake FALL 2022
