Veteran Voice: Carl H. Kolb
Carl, born and raised in rural Maysville, was inducted into the U.S. Army in July of 1952, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After a week at Leonard Wood, he went to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas for 16 weeks of intensive Basic Training.
After a one-week furlough, Carl boarded a train in Kansas City, headed for Fort Collins, Colorado. He transferred trains there for Fort Lawton, Washington, where he spent 30 days prior to embarking for Japan. They sailed on a large, two stacker ship called the “Simon B. Buckner”. Although the seas were relatively calm, over half the men suffered from seasickness, which Carl was able to avoid.
They arrived at Camp Drake, expecting to stay, but after three days boarded another ship headed for Inchon, Korea. After three more days spent in Inchon, they loaded onto military trucks and headed north. It was a rough trip over the mountains and on one-way, very narrow roads. At night they traveled without lights, arriving at their destination during the night.
They arrived at a field base of the 780th F.A. Battalion, which became his home for the next 12 months. They had arrived in the dead of winter and the weather was bitterly cold. The base was very near the infamous 39th Parallel.
When they arrived, their artillery was going full blast with 8-inch Howitzers, 155 “long toms” and a variety of smaller guns. They definitely realized they were in the middle of a battle zone.
Someone greeting their truck called out if anyone could type. Although not used to volunteering, he immediately raised his hand. He had taken typing in high school and was “pretty good at it”. He said that handling 200-pound shells loading the Howitzers and other big guns did not excite him, and he was happy being assigned to personnel where he kept records on 600 men.
They all lived in heavily fortified bunkers, coming out only for Mess Hall, the latrine, or guard duty. They were under fire regularly. They had a South Korean “houseboy” who washed their clothes in the river whenever it was relatively safe. The men bathed in the river whenever if the incoming fire was quiet, and they often did not get their own clothes back.
Carl enjoyed coffee with sugar and cream when living at home, but in Korea he learned to drink it black because the South Koreans would regularly steal the cream and sugar. The hot coffee was a treat in the cold weather.
Carl pulled guard duty a lot and was on duty when a “cease fire” was called. He said that just prior to the cease fire our artillery opened up with a full-scale barrage which ended suddenly, after which everything became weirdly silent.
That barrage was due to the fact that the North Koreans had their base “zeroed in” and really shelled them hard. Carl remembered one shell striking their bunker and “sucking” all of their mimeograph paper out of the bunker. He told his wife it was “too close for comfort”.
On another occasion, an Easter Sunday, they were shelled constantly, all day long. He commented that if the North had possessed bigger guns, the damage would have been very extensive.
Carl remembered the day when they were under especially heavy fire and the driver of an ammo truck which had just arrived dashed into their bunker for safety. Carl was very surprised to see it was a good friend and classmate from Maysville High School. They visited until the shelling stopped then he ran to his truck and drove away. After the war, he became a groomsman at Carl and Pauline's wedding, May 15, 1954.
Carl and Pauline were devoted to one another prior to his going to the military, and he wrote to her every evening. He contracted with a South Korean to paint her portrait (taken from a 5x7 photo he carried. It is on silk and Pauline still has it, and it is extremely well done, virtually photo quality. The cost? A carton of cigarettes.
Between Carl's base was and another nearby HQ Battery was a short distance away. There was a South Korean outfit between them and the North Koreans to protect the two artillery batteries. One night the South Koreans pulled out without notifying anyone they were leaving.
The next morning the North Koreans attacked just as the men at the other battery were going to the mess hall. They were completely wiped out. One of Carl's friends lost a good buddy that day.
All of Carl's unit did not leave at the same time, and a good friend stayed behind. After the friend returned to the states he went to college and became a teacher. He and his wife had 8 children, and one time came to Carl's Maysville farm to visit. He never saw him again.
Carl and many of his unit came home on a smaller ship and everyone suffered from seasickness. As a Sgt., Carl was supposed to keep his men from gambling their money away. He said he “never even tried”.
From the West Coast Carl took a train to Kansas City where he was greeted by his fiancée and his parents. He arrived home in March and was married that May. He received $900 in “mustering out” pay and they used that money to set up housekeeping in their farm home.
Carl had to remain in the Army Reserves for six years and was a member of the VA Post 5364 in Maysville. That VA Post conducts an annual parade from the Post to the Courthouse Square for a memorial service every Memorial Day, and a white cross is placed on the courthouse lawn for every deceased veteran.
Carl and his wife farmed for 47 years and raised two children before moving to Cameron. Carl passed away just two days short of his 64th wedding anniversary. His story was related by Pauline Kolb.
