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This Ain't No Lie!


When I was in the Army going to ASA [Military Intelligence ?? stop laughing...right now!!!] Officer's school in Ft Devens, Massachusetts, several of us rented a house north of the Fort on a big lake and drove to/from every day.
In that era, due to Viet Nam buildups, all base housing was filled so they actually paid us [ nonavailability of $16/day plus $.15 ((?)) a mile to commute ] to live off base and reimbursed mileage both ways.
Well, the Army starts early in the morning and you HAD to be on time. We wore Class A dress uniforms to class most days.
So one summer day when I had just enuf time to make it to base, I am driving along that lake at 40MPH when a duck flew directly into the side of my car.
Now...here is the good part--old cars [ yes...I am old ] had wing vents you could open in front of the rolled down windows [ yes--I was around even before power windows....] This duck impaled itself in that space [ at least part of it did---the rest hit me in the driver's seat].
After the initial shock [caused me to actually run off the road ], I recovered on the shoulder to try and figure out what the hell had happened.
It was LOUD, QUICK [ not quack], and totally UNEXPECTED !!!
I was covered in blood and guts but very few feathers [ most of these were still on the duck wedged into the vent].
So what do you do...when you have to be at class?
I shoved the duck out and drove to Ft Devens.
Remember ...some days we had to stop at the gate and produce picture ID.
When I attempted to do that, the MP on duty saw an officer drive up to the gate covered in blood and immediately panicked --NO SH**!!
As I remember they were asking me where I was shot, who did it, etc.
While I was explaining to them, more MP's and an ambulance showed up.
Thinking I was in shock because of all the blood and the stupid story about "the duck"---they wanted to take me to the base hospital.
It seemed like it took me hours to convince them of what actually happened.
By the time I got to class about 45 minutes late [ still with a uniform covered in blood]...I thought I was really in trouble for being late and in a dirty Class A uniform...
BUT ---OH NO ---the story had spread around the base like a wild fire --and everyone came to laugh at me...and rub it in!!
Someone, a few days later, even put a duck decal on my car...and the joke was I needed four more kills to become an ace!!!
As far as I am concerned, "The Duck" won that battle.


B-69, well, we were coming in to Seoul Ice on the ground.  We had taken off the chains, bad idea. I wasn't driving, but was in the back with several others.  apparently the driver(??) hit some ice and we hit a very large concrete power pole. from 40 miles an hour to dead stop instantly.  the guy riding in the front seat hurt his ear.  I was sitting in the back with my back to the driver.  when we struck the pole everyone else sitting in the back was sent flying into me.  Didn't think I was hurt, but we got back to Alamo and the next day I had the worst case of whiplash I could imagine. 


That was a bad year for trucks in Korea .  Before I came to Alamo I was at Hwaaksan (Det K).  We used to make a run to town (I think it was Chun Chon) and several rivers were forded.  On one run during heavy rains a deuce washed away.  Fortunately no one was killed.

 

I always have regretted not being a pheasant hunter when I was at Alamo .  I remember there being a lot of them.

 

The most chilling thing I remember about both Alamo  (and to a lesser extent Hwaaksan) was the detrius of war seeping out of the hillsides every time it rained or there was a frost – old pieces of equipment, stick grenade heads, landmines, etc.  It brought home just how much that country had been fought over.  Alamo changed hands several times and Hwaaksan was the site of a major battle involving UK troops.  I used to look at that stuff and think about the guys before me who died there.  Does anyone remember who the madman was who used to collect old mines and grenades throw rocks at them to see if they would go off?  

 

The other thing that sticks with me is standing on that hill at the site and looking into over the DMZ into NK at night.  Dark, a million stars and a frigid wind blowing down the Chorwon Valley from the Gulf of Wonsan .


Just a sample of what we remember. Co. B Alumni - sign up and see the rest of the real stories!