Evening star., 1951-12-16
By ChorIes w. Dunes


in their experiences. Danny Orr, a
former New York News copyboy, was
on story one day for the Portland
Oregonian. He was chauffeured all
over town by local Marine general
trying to interest in feature. "Mr."
Orr and his well-meaning host
finally got into heated argument
which rapidly became one-sided
when an officer informed the general
that the reporter was really private
in the Army.
The end Of on-the-j job b-training
found me back in Washington for
permanent asSignment-or so the
orders read. Actually it was "perma-
nent" only until August, 1850, when
the Pentagon ordered the last re-
naming Is specialists in the States
to go by air to Asia as the Army's
first combat correspondents.
Less than 80 days after leaving
Washington, was stepping ashore
at Inchon, on the heels of Marine
and Army 7th Division troops. MY
first combat dispatch was about the
famous amphibious invasion that
broke the back of the North Korean
Army.
On other fronts. two or three to a
division on the line, my colleagues
were working. Pat Murphy of Coral
Gables, Fla. broke out of the Pusan
beachhead with an advance spear
head from the 1St Cavalry Division.
linking up with the 7th Division
south of Suwon. Danny Orr, who
had served at Walter Reed Hospital.
was on the Korean west coast with
the I'd Division. Larry Kane jumped
with the 1920 Airborn Regiment
north of Pyongyang.
Covering the War
Our job boiled down to covering
the war for our division papers and
Stars and Stripes, and helping
civilian correspondents in their COW
erage. Most important, ours was the
task to pick up the little jobs they
had to overlook-to write about Joe
Doak's decoration for his hometown
paper, to tell Utah what its National
Guard artillery outfit was doing, to
send tape recording of Willie's
voice direct from the foxhole to the
station over which he used to hear
his favorite disc jockey.
We wrote combat yarns, human
interest stories, anecdotes, and maga-
zine-length articles. We made tape,
disc and wire recordings. Our pub
lie was any one who wanted to read
or hear about their Army. Our out
lets were anybody who wanted to
print or broadcast our stuff.
Less than As days after Inchon, I
made another amphibious landing
with the 7th Division, this time at
Iwon, on the northeast coast of
Korea. For the next three weeks I
was the only writer permanently
present with the 18th Regiment on
its much-heralded march to the Man
churian border. I had a reporters
field day until three days before we
reached the Yalu River, when a
swarm of newsmen descended upon
the front to gobble up an exclusive"
really knew I was never going to get.
Reunion at Yonechon
My reunion at Yongchon with
Bruce Winters and Neil Mellblom of
Havre, Mont, came right after the
Hungnam evacuation. Nell had been
in the lines with the Sd Division, re-
porting on the defense of the Hung
nam perimeter. Bruce and u. P. Cor
respondent Bill Chapman almost
missed the last boat. I had left a
few days earlier with the 7th.
We had plenty of tales to spin.
Bruce brought news of Ray Briem.
who was managing an armed forces
radio station in Kyushu, Japan. Nell
had run into Eddie Sheehan, now
editor Of the Front Line, Sd Division
newspaper. had met Pat Mallahan
at Hamhung. Earl Morrison of
Racine, Wis. and Carl Swenson, an
other Ogdenite, had been my corre-
spondent travelling mates since In
chon. The latter two dropped in and
we made it an old-home week.
That was January, 1851. Since then,
we've all had many miles and many
campaigns under the belt. Combat
correspondents were at Wonju and
Chechon, at Seoul and Suwon, in
the Iron Triangle" on "Heartbreak
Ridge" in the "Punchbowl," at
Kaesong and Panmunjom. We moved
forward with our divisions and moved
back. We lived with the infantryman,
talked with him, laughed with him,
and some of us fought with him. We
are soldiers, remember.
Practically all the combat cor
respondents are home on long-over-
due rotation. Many of them are
sweating out discharges-delayed a
year by Army order-to take advan-
tage of job offers from newspapers,
wire services and radio stations.
If, as military men say. "the battle
is the payoff," the Army's noble ex-
pertinent seems to have paid for
itself in the foxholes of Korea.