Tony Marino has reached a crossroads in life. With high school commencement just two weeks away, Marino is definitely ready to explore the world that lies outside Cleveland, Ohio. But times are tough in 1949, leaving Marino only one viable option-to join the navy. As he enlists, he has no idea that the Korean War is about to break out.

EPIC IN THE FORGOTTEN WAR

By Ken Filing

Trafford Publishing

Copyright © 2011 Ken Filing
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4269-6820-4

Chapter One

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of going to school. There's a whole big world out there to be seen and I want to see it" drawled Tony in his Midwest accent.

The other three teen age high school boys who were sitting with him in the detention room just chuckled and rolled their eyes.

Raymond looked up at him and said "Yeah sure Tony, just go down to your savings account and draw out those thousands of dollars that you've stashed away. Then you can buy a ticket on the next ship out of Cleveland."

The other two boys laughed and Tommy said "Yeah draw it out Tony and maybe you'll have enough to buy a bus ticket to Barberton."

This brought more laughter from the whole group including Tony who said "Yeah, that's part of the problem."

The group of pals were accustomed to that kind of kidding, all being much in the same predicament. They had been a very close knit group all through high school. They all played on any athletic team that was available to them when they weren't working part time jobs to help supplement their family's income. And they all excelled at one sport or another. They had reached a crossroad in the game of life. High school commencement was in two weeks and decisions must be made. Which new road would each take at this intersection?

Times were tough there in 1949. World War II was over and many factories were changing from war work to consumer goods. Hundreds of thousands of veterans had hit the job market and were eager to start a new life. Many were enrolling in college to finish their education. This made for an overload in the schools of higher learning.

The conditions made it tough for a young man just out of high school. Coach said that he could work out an athletic scholarship for Tony and Jay but they'd be required to work some part time jobs at the school like serving tables and that kind of thing. Raymond had been contacted by a scout from a major league baseball team but nothing had been offered as yet and Tommy was thinking about joining the Navy and applying for electronics school to learn to be a technician.

"Ya know this Navy thing sounds like an idea, but I don't feel like going to another school" said Tony.

"I'm sure you could get sea duty and see the world that way, Tony, and I must admit the Navy sounds good to me. I checked into it and there are other opportunities available. Why don't we go into Akron and check it out further?" Tommy said.

Just then the outer door opened and Mr. Sauers, the Dean of Boys yelled into the room "Okay you hooligans. Time's up. You can all leave but you'll find yourselves back in here again if you decide to go swimming on school time again.... even if it is close to graduation."

The four of them unfolded themselves from the hard back chairs and sauntered out.

One of them mumbled "At least we won't have to put up with old sour puss any more."

"I HEARD THAT! WHICH ONE SAID THAT?" yelled Mr. Sauers.

The boys just chuckled and kept on walking without looking back and when they reached the sidewalk, they took off running.

Mr. Sauers stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips and slowly grinned. His lips then parted slightly while a chuckle came from down deep.

He said to himself with a twinkle in his eye "I kind of hate to see them go. The four of them sure made life interesting." He sighed as he slowly turned and closed the door to the detention room.

The next two weeks flew by for the boys with all the preparation for graduation. But it soon was over and they were high school graduates.

They met at Jay's house so they could drive into Akron in his beat up old car to check out the Navy recruiting office. When Tony and Tommy arrived Jay gave them the latest news.

"Raymond won't be going with us. He called and said the New York Yankees want him to play baseball on their Lima, Ohio farm team. He thinks he has a good chance to make the team and who knows how far he'll go. He can really swat the ball and with proper coaching and some experience with his catching skills behind the plate, he just might do it. I told him to go for it."

And with that, the three buddies jumped into Jay's old '34 Ford Sedan and drove into Akron. They parked at the recruiting office parking lot and entered the building through the main entrance which led to a long hall with office doors on each side.

"Okay guys, we're here, now what do we do?" asked Tony.

"Well there's the door marked Navy Recruiting Office so I guess we go on in and ask questions" answered Tommy.

"Wait a minute" interjected Jay. "Right across the hall is the Marine Recruiting Office. They really have some neat uniforms. Let's go in there. Maybe it would be more fun to be a Marine."

"Oh right Jay. Haven't you heard about the training those guys have to go through?"

"Yeah but we've gone through some pretty intense stuff at football practice. Don't forget those scrimmages during those hot, humid August days."

"Not exactly the same" said Tommy.

"He's right Jay. Three months of Navy Boot Camp is all I want of that kind of stuff. Not a steady diet for three years" added Tony.

"I'm for the Navy" Tommy exclaimed.

"Me too" Tony agreed.

"Okay, okay you guys. I was only kidding. Let's go talk to the Navy recruiting guy."

They entered the Navy office and before they left, all three had committed themselves to a three year enlistment. They were to board a train to San Diego for Boot Camp on July 1.

When Tony broke the news to his mom and dad, they weren't overjoyed.

"I'd rather see you go to college Tony" said his dad.

"Gosh Dad, I know you can't afford to pay for my college education what with the orchard not doing well for the past few years and the football scholarships offered are not that secure. What if I don't make the team or get hurt?"

"But you could get hurt in the Navy too, Tony" exclaimed his mom.

"I know Mom, but think of it another way. They still have the G.I. Bill in effect and if I put in three years, I'll only be twenty years old. I can start to college then and the government will pay for it."

"Well, will you promise to go to school when you get out?" asked his dad.

"Sure I will Dad" answered Tony.

"Okay then" Mr. Marino said with a sigh "I guess I'll sign for you, since you're only seventeen. But I'm doing it with a heavy heart."

"Thanks Dad. I won't let you down. And Mom, don't worry, I'll be okay. The war is over so it will be a chance for me to see the world under peacetime conditions."

Those words would eventually come back to haunt Mr. and Mrs. Marino.

Chapter Two

One year later, in June of 1950, found Tony home on a seven day leave. His ship, the USS Columbia, had docked in Norfolk, Virginia en route to New York City where it would set sail to Bremerhaven, Germany.

Tony left the ship in Norfolk and would return to it in New York at the end of his leave. He was fulfilling his dream and traveling to new and different places. He was assigned to the ship after Boot Camp and some additional "Special Forces Training" which involved intense indoctrination on small arms as well as automatic weapons and close combat drills. He had already been to Hawaii, Guam, Panama, San Juan and now would be going to Europe.

On the fifth day of his seven day leave, he received a telegram to report back to his ship in Norfolk at the end of his leave instead of meeting it in New York.

The telegram didn't give a reason but he was sure it had something to do with the outbreak of hostilities in the Orient in a country called Korea. The newspaper had some coverage on it and showed a map which placed the country across the Yellow Sea from Japan.

When he got back to the ship he asked his shipmates "Hey, what's going on? Are we going back to the Pacific?"

"We sure are" said Sully, the Coxswain "We're leaving tomorrow and not wasting any time about it. We're not stopping anywhere until we hit Hunters Point in San Francisco where they'll put all our guns back in commission. They've been in mothballs since the end of the war. So be ready to get underway right after reveille. We'll have chow after we're at sea."

"Wow. Must be serious" said Tony.

"Damn right it's serious kid. You're going to find out what the real Navy is all about. Get topside with the rest of the crew and make ready to make a move at 0600."

The trip south to Panama, through the Canal and north in the Pacific was not the leisurely, fun filled jaunt they experienced on the way to the Atlantic. The mood of the crew was different too. More business like and it was evident what to expect since the job of converting the cabins and holds to accommodate troops instead of civilian dependants was the prime duty for the deck crew.

The time spent at Hunters Point Naval Yard was short with no wasted time. The Yard crew worked 24 hour shifts to put the Columbia back to wartime readiness. Not only taking the guns out of moth balls but replacing the Motor Launches with LCVP's to be used for landing troops on a beach and other small boat runs.

When she was ready the ship embarked for the Port Chicago Ammunition Dump which was north through the bay, traversing San Pablo Bay and through the cut into Suisun Bay. It was there that the ship would pick up shells for its Five Inch, Forty Millimeter and Twenty Millimeter guns. Again work took place around the clock. No one now had any doubts about what the Columbia was being prepared for.

Fuel and supplies had already been addressed before she left Hunters Point so the next destination was the firing range off the coast of San Diego where all guns would be test fired and gun crews would be trained. The targets are drones, radio controlled by an operator aboard a training ship. It was two days of intense weapons firing.

Upon completion of the training exercise, the course was set for Seattle, Washington where the ship would take on troops from Fort Lewis Army Base and head for Japan.

The destination was Yokosuka, Japan where the troops would disembark for deployment. A U. S. Navy base was located there since Japan has been under occupation by the United States from the end of World War II. Tony had gotten word that after Jay had finished his tour with the Navy Drill Team on Treasure Island, he was transferred to this base. But he had no idea what Jay's duties would be. He mused to himself while taking a rickshaw to the base Main Gate "I bet he's got himself a racket of some kind. Jay was always good at getting the most out of the least."

He caught the base bus after showing his I.D. and Liberty Pass to the Marine guards and traveled to the Personnel Office where he asked a Yeoman if Jay Johnson was on the base and where he could be contacted.

The response was affirmative and Tony was directed to a small bungalow located behind the Officers Club.

"Strange" thought Tony "must be a small barracks or something."

When he passed the Officers Club, he glanced in and sure enough he saw Jay behind the bar placing bottles on the back shelf. He opened the door and yelled "Hey Jay. It's me Tony."

"Well I'll be damned" replied Jay. He came out of the Club and grabbed Tony in a bear hug.

"Come on into my shack and we'll have a beer and catch up on things."

Tony was speechless. He was certainly not used to this kind of military life. "What's going on Jay? Is this your job?"

"Sure thing, buddy. I'm in charge of the Officer's whiskey locker." Jay said with a twinkle in his eye.

"I knew you'd have some kind of cushy job, but old buddy you've really outdone yourself this time" said Tony in amazement.

"How long are you in for? Can you meet me at the base E. M. Club tonight?" asked Jay. "I don't have liberty" he said.

"Sure I can. How about 1900?" answered Tony.

"Sounds good. Hey have you heard anything about Tommy or Ray?" asked Jay.

"Last I heard, Tom finished Electronics School on T. I. and is stationed stateside somewhere in Texas. I think Ray is still playing ball for that Yankees farm team and working at his dad's bar off season."

"Hey look Tony, I've got to finish stocking the officer's bar. I'll see you tonight and we'll reminisce about the old days a little."

"Okay Jay. See you then."

That evening passed quickly for the two buddies. Tony told Jay that the ship was leaving in the morning to pickup a load of combat Marines in Osaka and probably head over to Pusan, Korea.

"The army guys are catching hell over there and need reinforcements. Our sister ship has already taken a boat load of soldiers over and they're now calling it the Pusan Perimeter. Those North Koreans are pretty well equipped and our guys were really caught short with all the cutbacks and punishing fiscal constraints after World War II. I guess a couple thousand of our guys already bought the farm. Now aren't you glad we talked you out of joining the Marines?" exclaimed Tony.

"Yeah, you're right. We'd probably be right in the middle of it. But Tony you might be seeing some action over there too. Better be careful bud. Don't volunteer for any of those crazy jobs. Be like me, a lover instead of a fighter" laughed Jay.

"You're a funny guy Johnson. Ha Ha. I've seen you in a few skirmishes and don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Just be careful and keep in touch. I'll try to touch base with Tommy and Raymond. Wouldn't it be great to all get together again some day?"

Tony left soon after, since his liberty was up at midnight, and his would be an early start the next day. It would prove to be a long one.

Chapter Three

The Columbia embarked for Osaka and picked up the First Provisional Marine Brigade. These combatants were ready for action. They were grim and armed to the teeth. They will be a welcome sight to the men defending Pusan. The 1st Battalion, 21st Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 34th Regiment were getting slammed. Surely our military geniuses had a solution for this debacle.

Tony's ship anchored and the marines were picked up by L.C.M.'s and ferried into Pusan. It was now well into August and the heat and humidity was oppressive. The return trip to Japan was not easy. The passengers were Republic of Korea recruits going to Japan for training. Most were very young and newly drafted into the army. They were not happy for several reasons. First, they hated the Japanese since they were considered as slaves to their Japanese conquerors at one time. Also they didn't really want to become soldiers and lastly it seemed that almost all were prone to seasickness.

This made for intolerable conditions down below in the troop compartments. The stench was overwhelming and those who were sick refused to leave their bunks which made them even sicker. The ones that weren't sick refused to go down to the troop compartments and slept on the open deck.

Arrival in Sasebo, Japan was a welcome sight for all concerned including the ships company of the Columbia. After the ROK's disembarked, the skipper insisted that they send a crew back aboard to clean the holds. Even then it was days before they aired out.

But the crew was in a good mood because orders were to return to San Francisco and pick up another load of soldiers. One stop in Yokohama, discharge a few soldiers for some R. and R. and then out to sea en route to the States.

While they were anchored in Yokohama the Master at Arms approached Tony while he was coiling some lines on the main deck.

"Hey Marino, do you want to get in the anchor pool?"

"Explain what that is" answered Tony "I've never been in one but I've heard about it."

"Okay" said the M. A. "I've got 60 chances to sell at five bucks each. For your five bucks you get a number 0 through 59. When we get to the States, the quartermaster records in the log book the minute we arrive. Either when the anchor is dropped or when the first line hits the dock. If it's your number you win the pot. Three Hundred bucks. Do you want in or not?"

"Sure. Why not? I've got as good a chance as anyone. Here's my fiver."

"Okay your number is 13."

"Oh great. Thanks a lot for the lucky number." Tony quipped.

Just then the Bos'n whistle sounded and over the speaker and came the call "Away Number 2 LCVP. Away Number 2 LCVP."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from EPIC IN THE FORGOTTEN WARby Ken Filing Copyright © 2011 by Ken Filing. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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