During his basic training and cooking school, Bill was part of the Sixth Army based in the Western States. The red star souvenir was the Sixth Army emblem. He was also issued a travel guide by the
Sixth Army which stressed the importance of representing the Army well while
traveling in uniform.
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| Sixth Army Red Star uniform patch and travel guide. |
The Thanksgiving menu from 22 November 1951 was a meal that
Bill helped prepare. In addition to a
Roast Tom Turkey, dressing, gravy and cranberry sauce, the menu included
stuffed celery hearts, shrimp cocktail, buttered whole grain corn, snow flake
potatoes and candied yams. For dessert
the soldiers were treated to mincemeat pie, fruitcake and sweet potato
pie. These treats were supplemented with
fresh apples, fresh oranges, hard candy and mixed nuts. Four or five cooks were on a team. They worked one day on and one day off. The Koreans in the photo did the KP duty.
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| Mess Section, Korea 1951 |
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| Group of Koreans that performed K.P. for the Mess Unit. |
His unit was Battery A 64th Field Artillery of
the 25th Division. A website
has been created for this unit for memories and reunions at http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/64fab.htm.
Lt. Edwards was the mess officer. He was good as he could be. It snowed and Edwards had to relieve
somebody. Bill offered to drive if
Edwards would get a weapons carrier.
This vehicle is a light truck designed to carry machine guns or mortars
and their crews. Bill also drove a water
truck. After Bill took Edwards to the
front line, he was permanently assigned to driving the weapons carrier. He had it easy on that assignment. He only had to work an hour per day.
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| 1943 Dodge Weapons Carrier |
Every veteran who served in the United States Armed Forces
during the Korean War was assigned a Military Occupation Specialty or MOS
number. Bill recalled that the MOS
number for a cook was 3060.
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| Hand drawn and mimeographed map of area where Bill worked. |
The map shows the areas where Bill worked in Korea. The most southern point on the map is
Chuncheon (Chunchon). Chuncheon is a
Korean city with a long history. The city was largely destroyed during the
Korean War during the Battle of Chuncheon.
Because of its strategic location, Chuncheon continues to be known for
the large Korean bases in the area. Until recently there was also a US military
base, Camp Page, in the city across from Chuncheon Station. Camp Page is still
in use by the Republic of Korea Army as an army aviation base. Many reservoirs
have been constructed in the area and they have become a tourist
attraction. On the shores of Lake Uiam is the Peace Park, a memorial to the
Battle of Chuncheon. . The battle was one of the first fought in the Korean War
on June 25, 1950. South Korean defenders soundly defeated a superior North
Korean force, stalling the invasion and allowing time for the South Korean army
to regroup.
Bill wrote to Irma on September 4, 1951. He wrote the letter on special stationery
that folded into a letter. He sat
outside his tent and wrote on his shaving kit that Irma had sent him. “…Honey this is nothing like what I thought
war is like or maybe I haven't seen much yet.
I sure hope I don't see any more... There is a Korean that washes our
clothes for us cooks every day now. Sure
is nice. I sure am glad that I'm a cook..."
Punch Bowl was the last place he was assigned. The Punchbowl is a natural geologic bowl
created by an extinct volcano. It
measures several miles across and is surrounded by steep mountains on three
sides. The Punchbowl contains some of the richest farmland in South
Korea. One of the hardest fought battles for the United States Marines in the
war occurred in late August through mid September 1951. Fortunately for Bill
the area was somewhat more secure in 1952.
When Bill left Korea, he was sent to Japan. The officers at the processing center
stripped him down took all of his personal belongings and gave him a new
uniform. The only thing he got to keep
was his helmet. He had a picture of Irma
inside the helmet.
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| Bill Harrington, Korea 1951 |
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| Irma Harrington |
Bill came back from Korea on the troopship USS General
Randall. Bill volunteered to work in the
kitchen. Somehow they got the key to the
freezer. They took a block of cheese and
box of crackers. The guys went up on
deck and ate the cheese and crackers.
The ship docked at Fort Mason in San Francisco on July 2,
1952. Bill and Irma saved a newspaper called the
San Francisco News with the headline: “VETS HOME ON 2 SHIPS”. There were 1825 passengers aboard the General
Randall. Of these, 565 were Army
personnel; 11, Navy; 1088 Air Force; and 171 dependents and civilian employees,
all from the Far East chiefly Japan. The
Army band welcomed the group home with “California Here I Come” and other
popular songs. The Red Cross served
cookies, coffee and fruit juice to the returning soldiers and airmen.
Also on the front page of the San Francisco News that day
was an article stating that American battle casualities had reached a total of
111,576. Bill managed
to avoid becoming one of those statistics.
The final figures for the Korean War were 36,516 dead, 92,134 wounded
and total casualties of 128,650.
The Army personnel were taken in a ferryboat to Camp
Stoneman in Pittsburg for processing.
The concession stand on the ferry boat sold out before they got to Camp
Stoneman. Then Bill went to Camp Roberts
to be reassigned just before the 4th of July. Everyone was gone for the holiday so all of
the soldiers hitchhiked out of there. Bill
went to Jay and Ruby Fitzpatrick’s home in Daly City.
Bill was back to Camp Cooke after the July 4th
holiday. Irma was with him at Camp Cooke
in September 1952 working as a stenographer.
Bill was discharged at Camp Cooke which later became Vandenbergh AFB.
Bill went on a bivouac to Hunter Liggett. A bivouac is usually a temporary encampment
under little or no shelter. Bill advised
on how to set up a field kitchen based on his Korea experience. The recruiter offered him Master Sergeant if
he would stay in but he did not want to return to Korea.
Bill was transferred to the Army Reserve on 25 November
1952. He received his Honorable
Discharge on 10 September 1956.
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| William Royce Harrington, Honorable Discharge 1956 |
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