Melvin Truch (US Army)
US Army Radar Technician
Thunderbird 45th Infantry Division—Field Artillery Battalion
Although he lived in New Orleans, Melvin graduated from radar school in Texas. He was drafted to go to Korea. He had Chinese friends in high school so he knew where Korea was. Melvin was 20 years old when he was sent to Korea on June 1953. The armistice to cease-fire between military forces was signed on July 25, 1953 so he was in Korea when battles were still waging.
At first, he was sent to Sasebo, Japan, which was the main launching station for US and United Nations troops, and the shipping center for millions of tons of fuel, trucks, tanks, and ammunition. During the Korean War, as many as 20,000 Americans lived in the Port of Sasebo, and the port saw up to 100 warships a day.
From Sesebo, he sailed to Incheon, Korea where tides were up to 35-feet high. The navy ship anchored a far distance from the shore since the ship could not go against the tide. They had to take their duffle bags and gear and climb down the rope ladder to get into another ship which took them to shore.
In Seoul, the first man Melvin met was Nelson Howard. When Melvin arrived in Seoul, he went to a mess hall to eat and was sitting at a table alone when another boy came up to him, grabbed his arm, and grabbed his high school ring. That boy also went to Warren Easton High School. Thousands of miles away, Melvin met a guy from his home town and from his same high school. It was such a surprise, each wrote to their fathers about running into each other. Amazingly both fathers also went to the same grammar school and they knew each other too. After returning home, Melvin kept in contact with Nelson and took him out to lunch, but at present, Nelson is not well at all.
From Seoul, Melvin took a train to Chuncheon. There was only one track for the trains, and since another train was approaching, his train stopped to wait. The other train was a hospital train and had just been hit by a mortar. Most of the patients were dead, but they transferred the few who survived to his train.
From a replacement depot he was sent to Mundung-ni, which is a city in North Korea above the 38th Parallel. There were no civilians at this location. A Korean houseboy of about 14 years old was assigned to them. His name was Yun HoJun but they called him Charlie. There was another Korean soldier, Shin YoungTak who was assigned to translate, but they preferred Charlie who could speak English and he became good friends to everyone.
As a radar technician, his group had to go behind enemy lines to be on top of the hill. They were tracking artillery rounds sent by the enemy. When a mortar was detected, the Americans would launch shells and that would wipe out anything within a 50-foot radius. The Communist sent one plane over them to drop hand grenades but they did not get hit. There was a new radar bunker which had been completed and built by American engineers, but just before Melvin got there, it received a direct hit and was destroyed. His group of radar technicians were moved to several new positions.
On the last day before end of the war, Melvin came within six inches of death. Since the generators were running 24 hours a day, they had all burned out and there was nothing for the men to do. Some men were playing cards and wanted beer. The supply officer gave them beer, but it was warm. Down the hill was a small stream of cool water. Melvin took the beer to cool it in the stream. He looked outside and when no bombs were falling, without a helmet, he ran down the hill as fast as he could. Suddenly there was a loud boom, and Melvin hit the ground. All the beers went flying. The shell had landed so close to Melvin that he could have been killed right there. Luckily he was not hit and went back up the hill. The guys asked him where was the beer and Melvin told them they had popped open. The men were mad and wanted to kill the enemy who destroyed their beer.
There was a Filipino regiment combat team near them, and a Catholic priest was always present. The Filipinos had mass twice a day, and half of them would stop fighting and go to mass and then take turns fighting. They would not miss a mass.
When the truce was signed on July 27, 1953, all of sudden there was silence. On hearing the news, everyone went outside saying, “Do you hear it?” There was complete silence for the first time. The fighting stopped from all sides from that day forward. But at night the Chinese or North Korean soldiers would try to sneak up on the Americans. But the American soldiers had big search lights and they would point that around their surroundings and in the air to track the enemy.
After the war ended, Melvin became the section chief of his group. The 10th Corps moved away from the fighting area and were sent to different places. They met Korean soldiers that spoke fluent English who were trained in Oklahoma. These Koreans wanted to play volleyball so the American soldiers cleared the field and made a volleyball court, and a baseball field. They were also entertained by visiting Korean shows. He celebrated Christmas in Korea, and it was very cold.
Melvin came back home in October 1953 and bought a brand new Chevy convertible with the money he saved from the Army.
Melvin with his wife Rosemarie and granddaughter Brittany, 2018
Melvin reminiscing about his Korean War stories, 2018