Veterans Voice: Don Ford

Once there they were loaded onto M-135 trucks and transported north. They had no idea how far they went, just that the truck ride was very rough with the troops constantly bumped from side to side

 

 

 

Cameron resident Don Ford was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He joined the military in October of 1951. Basic training was at Fort Knox, Kentucky, after which he went to Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Benning, Geogia.

 

Immediately following training, his entire unit was sent to Korea. En route they stopped for two weeks in Japan before entering Korea at Pusan (now Busan). Once there they were loaded onto M-135 trucks and transported north. They had no idea how far they went, just that the truck ride was very rough with the troops constantly bumped from side to side. They were exhausted when they reached Head Quarters Company.

 

Don was assigned to “A” Company and headed further north, again a rough truck ride. When they finally stopped it was the middle of a dark night and unloading was carried out by name, with soldiers tripping over one another, annoying the Sergeant. Fortunately sitting near the rear of the truck, Don was able to easily hop down.

 

He remembers that they followed the Sergeant into the darkness, sticking like glue to the man in front of them in order to becoming lost in the darkness. He says it was likely a comical sight. They did not know where they were going which added to the confusion.

 

Once at a field base, they quickly “dug in”. The base was subjected to mortar fire on a daily basis. The mortar rounds were very loud and metal fragments sliced through the air. Men were scattered in foxholes by themselves which gave a sense of being alone. He said the worst part was the silence, waiting for the next barrage to begin. These conditions played tricks on one’s mind.

 

His unit was considered a reserve unit and were sent wherever there was a problem. They fought alongside Republic of Korea (ROK) troops. He said they were good fighters but were not well-trained.

 

Following their tour of duty, they were returned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It was here that he received what he called a “lucky break” and was assigned to “Jump School” with the 187th Airborne Division, something he relished and made him feel very proud.

 

Then, in 1955, the entire regiment was sent to Munich, Germany. The Cold War was in full swing, and their unit was to be a deterrent to a potential Russian invasion.

 

They temporarily replaced the 3rd Calvary patrolling the “border fence” separating Czechoslovakia and Russia. On either side of the fence was a sort of “no man’s land” with 25 yards of plowed earth and 25 yards of grass on either side. There were land mines on the German side---to prevent defections of Russian troops. They could see the Russians through binoculars, and they were looking back.

 

Fortunately, the Russians did not press issues, since Russia had considerably more troops along the border area and “we would only have been able to slow them down”.

 

After leaving military service, Don spent several years driving a truck until company dissolved, leaving 4500 people out of work. He spent some time working on an ocean fishing boat he described as “very hard work”.

 

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