Mike

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Mikes Korean War Pictures
I recently came across some old Korean War
photos in an album that had been lost for many
years. They were all taken when I was with 2
P.P.C.L.I. 81 mm Mortar Platoon in Korea in
1950-51. These photos were produced by an
ancient, black and white box camera and are not
of the highest quality. They may be of interest,
however, to my fellow veterans of the Korean War.
Editor Mike January 25th 2010 More photos 4 Feb
10
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Chinese prisoners of war. Note that they are
wearing summer clothes and not the padded jackets
they wore in the winter. One carries a bag that
is probably full of seeds, a basic food they
seemed to depend on. Another is smoking a
cigarette, probably given to him by a Canadian. 
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The vehicle shown here is a U.S. "half track",
the kind used by our 81 mm Mortar Platoon.
Sitting at the top of the half track and next to
the mounted 50 cal machine gun is Harry Brydon, a
friend of mine who was killed by a Chinese shell
in October, 1951. The three men at the bottom
are, left to right Rail, Baker and Belanger. I
have forgotten their first names.
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That's me, Editor Mike, in the interior of a C-47
winging its way from Kimpo Airport in Korea to
Japan for a five day R R leave. The photo is of
poor quality, but it brings back pleasant
memories. I loved Japan! It was a very exciting
experience!
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This is a photo of a typical Chinese bunker. Note
the heavy overlay on the roof. These bunkers
could withstand a lot of artillery and mortar
fire, but were vulnerable to napalm, a jellied
gasoline that resulted in temperatures of up to
1200º C.  
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This is a 17 pounder anti-tank gun. The T-34
Russian tanks used by the North Koreans were
mostly all destroyed and gone by the time 2
PPCLI arrived in Korea in December, 1950, and
these guns were used as bunker busters. They were
later replaced by U.S. 75 mm Recoilless Rifles.
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This is a typical 81 mm mortar pit as used by 2
PPCLI, RCR and Royal 22nd. It had no roof,
obviously, because the mortar had to launch
shells straight up! It provided protection except
in the case of a direct hit or overhead shrapnel
bursts.  
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If you served in 2 PPCLI you will remember, left
to right,  the colourful CSM "Little
Jesus" Goldsworthy and Captain Andy Fouldes
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If you served in 2 PPCLI you will remember, left
to right, CSM "Scudd" Rudd and Major "BB
Eyes" Henderson
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A typical Korean winter scene. Korea was cold as
hell in winter because of Siberian winds that
blew south. Note the thin, spindly pine. Not many
trees grew on the mountains.
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This is a photo of a slit trench that I
constructed and occupied in March, 1951. Note
that I have a Bren Light Machine Gun mounted at
the top of the trench. I sometimes dismounted the
30 cal machine gun from our half track and placed
it at my trench rather than the Bren. I liked the
Bren better. The trench itself was about 3 feet
deep and lined with straw. Our 81 mm mortar was
in  separate trench and not far away. Each man
had his own slit trench. I once found a beautiful
straw mat, but when I unrolled it, I found a dead
Chinese, much to my dismay. Fortunately it was
winter and he was frozen solid and without odour.
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This photo shows courageous Koreans planting rice
in the spring of 1951. I say courageous because
they planted rice even as the war raged around
them. In those days the Koreans used fermented
human manure to fertilize their drops. The smell
was sometimes overwhelming, but the crops were
great! People in the orient had been using human
manure for many centuries and the crops they
produced by this method saved them from
starvation. They saved up their human manure up
all winter,  and in the spring they mixed it with
water before pouring it onto their crops. I
visited Korea in 2 and 28 and noticed that the
Koreans now use chemical fertilizers.
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In this photo you see, left to right a little
Korean boy, Sergeant Timlick, Robbie Roberts, and
another little Korean boy. Robbie Roberts and I
served on the same mortar together. Little Korean
boys, many of them orphans, came to visit with us
when we were not engaged with the enemy. They
were hungry and cold. We fed them and gave them
clothing. The Korean kids in this photo were
dressed up and given cigarettes, which they did
not actually smoke. Bad idea, I know, but smoking
was more acceptable in those days. Our 81 mm
mortar platoon had a "houseboy" called Kim. He
was about 14 years old and helped us with
everything. Many Koreans are called Kim. I often
wonder what happened to our Kim. He was very
intelligent. Maybe he became a successful
business man in later years.  
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This half track was demolished by a road
mine. Shades of Afghanistan. The Chinese planted
mines on the roads frequently. I seem to recall
that some of them were made of wood and therefore
undetectable. We were once in a convoy when a
vehicle about 1 yards in front of us ran over a
mine. The vehicle was destroyed and its occupants
killed or injured.    
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We celebrated Christmas, 1950 at this location in
Pusan. The man standing at the front is Kerry
Dunphy. Kerry was a medical student at a
university in eastern Canada before he joined the
special force as a private. He acted as the
master of ceremonies at this Christmas gathering.
He was very charismatic. He later attended
officer training and was commissioned. Most of
his life was spent working for the Canadian
Legion. He died a number of years ago.
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Pamphlets of this kind were used by the Chinese
and the United Nations. The Chinese sent us
messages to tell us that we would be well treated
if we surrendered. The UN did the same thing.
I don't know what this Chinese message is saying,
but the propaganda is evident. Surrender or die!
If you are able to read Chinese, please translate
and let me know what the message says! I assume
that it is in Mandarin, the most common Chinese
language, rather than Mandarin.
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This is a typical R R (Rest and Rehabilitation)
scene in Japan in the summer of 1951. We were
given 5 days of R R in Japan and 2 after
serving 6 months in Korea. The Japanese "geisha
girls" loved "handsome Canadians". The following
names of the PPCLI soldiers shown in this photo
are listed on the back as Buckland, Clasher,
Jobagy, Oakley and Black. The soldier at the left
of the photo is "Red" Buckland, who I knew well.
As you can see, I am not in this photo. I was
probably visiting a museum. You don't think
so? Would you believe an art gallery? A Walter
Black was killed in Korea in November, 1951. I am
not sure if this is the same Black, but I think
that it is Walter.    
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These two American soldiers are members of a
4.2 mortar crew that came to help us out. I
remember that they were surprised by our accents.
I think that we were the first Canadians that
they had met. They told me that I spoke like
someone from North Dakota, South Dakota or
Minnesota, which made sense, since I was born and
raised in neighbouring Manitoba! They were very
friendly and had great senses of humour.  
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This photo shows Captain Fouldes talking with
Canadian reporter Bill Boss. Boss, the son of a
Canadian colonel, was hated by the military
censors because he filed stories that were
supposed to be kept secret. Shortly after
we arrived at the front line we found about 67
black (Negro, in those days) American soldiers
who had been bayonetted and shot in their
sleeping bags. They were led by white officers,
who had apparently not ordered proper sentries.
We were all shocked by this scene. They were
naked, frozen solid and looked like black marble
statues. General MacArthur was angry because they
had allowed themselves to be killed in this
careless manner, and he did not want people in
the U.S. to know about it. Boss filed a story
about these deaths and it appeared in all of the
major American newspapers. It was a good lesson
for us. Big Jim Stone, our commanding
officer, decreed, that in future, no sleeping
bags would be used by 2 PPCLI in the front
line. Better to be cold than dead.
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Members of the 2 PPCLI mortar platoon posing in
front of a half-track. Notice the Korean "house
boy" in the light shirt. Notice also the 50 cal
machine gun covered with a tarp.
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Dog Company, 2 PPCLI, had 7 men killed on this
hill. They were the first Canadian casualties of
the Korean War.
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A temporary stop for the 2 PPCLI mortar platoon.
The winter scene and landscape is typical.
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Left to right Major Tighe and Lt. Col. Stone of
2 PPCLI.
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Korean refugees. Notice that they are carrying
what few belongings they have.
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Harry Brydon of 2 PPCLI mortar platoon sitting on
a statue at a Korean temple. Harry was killed in
October, 1951. 
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Korean shoe shine boy offering his services to
soldiers of 2 PPCLI.
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Section from 2 PPCLI getting ready to go on a
patrol.
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The Rice Paddy
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