A Word on Words; 2302; Col. Harry Maihafer

in a word on where program delving into the world of books and their offers this week colonel harry my paper talks about west point forty nine in the korean war from the hudson to the alley your host for a word of words mr john c compiler chairman of the freedom forum's first amendment center at vanderbilt university and you know i am dancing or unwanted unwelcome a world war i guess today is harry might for colonel retired a banker retired writer certainly not retire welcome her downward it's great to have you here to talk about the forgotten war the korean war it's interesting to me you know we recently earned this year went through celebration anniversary of the battle of normandy in our thoughts went back to or war to further addressing that we continue because of all of the aspects political and otherwise the touch on vietnam constantly reminded of that war and in the public reaction to it during the war and change in public

attitudes since the war the korean war really is it's got more isn't it yesterday a man and i'm sorry for that doesn't deserve to be remembered and i think the people participated deserve to be remembered well i certainly do and you have remembered exceptionally well i your class at the point in nineteen forty nine the point of west point there on the hudson river from whence cometh the title from the hudson valley out and that was a phenomenon that i would think so and now we like a little bit a jeer it was a it was a vintage year none of the new course when you graduated this june seventh nineteen fifty forty nine forty and forty eight forty nine that year later you'd be faced with combat and you tackle

about the day in a tennis tournament at fort uses virginia and i am playing against a lieutenant colonel you i am still didn't want to still that shaped tail and the idea to begin with and go on the next round and the toll and afterward your average at work and this is just before the fall of seoul korea and just before president truman and takes action to put us into that war and the colonel tells you are you know a sitcom that yes he had i said i have orders to the far east and in the spring going into combat colonel was also on our way said you know harry was appointed are two viable will never going to come and you'll end up in some cushy headquarters job well us on as a too valuable to combat this book certainly makes gives the lie to anybody who ever thought that west was

won not trying to battle and i think the media the book heirs that you because it helps us relive all that's forgotten an important warning in the life of this country or that that point was not as divisive as the vietnam conflict it was nonetheless terrible drag on the national morale and anna terrible apparent terrible burden political burden for harry truman ultimately kerry because it was the first war the first war without yes but a very important turning point i think in our national are facing up to the realities of post forward to this without any doubt and i'd like to tell the story of the war in some ways as an important way as as you tell us through the actions of your

classmates end you yourself and there was one of your classmates who believe the point destined to go into the air and he wanted to fly all of the bush the bush came out of them a humorist and wanted to soar he wanted to fly with the eagles and it would let him know and he pursued his dream right up the roof omar bradley's front porch and banged on the door remarkable story as well that story airing the soap before the air force academy and then there were people in our class who went into the air force but was a question of academic like you had given up those certain point the class that was great is later that kept captain you a grade as an athlete he played at one time or another insect varsity sports event of war iraq war or two we had jumped into normandy none as a first lieutenant had taken off it'll go far to become a cadet when he graduated will be old the supple i've done the infantry

thing i wanna be a flyer we couldn't get near fort lee wasn't high enough and in the class and more people would've accepted that and he went down to the pentagon tried to argue his way into the air force in the was wired into stonewall that one that one evening the corner corps one at fort myer virginia the doorbell rings american parable of an orderly opens the door and he said i'm with unfortunate like see omar bradley i really was taken aback about after some tough time my gentle bradlee worry understanding man invited the man and then explained his dilemma and he finally says young man if you want that much to a mere four if we'd only give the army are words of that effect well phenomenal story and there's another about the bottom of things how about goff and i think those two stories are in somerset the seine used to tell a story above was a that we're very intellectual individual another very much your

brain it had a couple years of stanford ii reverend i'm a glass panel what they've been hired the classic that the fall of time coaching people were less gifted many people who got their borrowers got them as was older than all of them and both got married off to you are the first to go far east is an engineer went off to a nigerian and japan by this time bush is often to flying school to know one surprising is overcome the fact that you were exposed to be six foot one and still be a fighter pilot and believe it became a very fine if eighty six and fourthly volatile people under the tragically buff who went to japan i went to the engineer battalion was one of the first war where half early in the war i think maybe a week after it landed in korea with another classmate film and bill moore who

won in those same engineer battalion those up for it and having trouble does radio he called her boss who was the italian communications officer of came up there and he's standing up for the perennial fix to the machine and all about them and their slave to cross his chest and untimely comeback of aid station in that the bushes another story perform brilliantly throughout the war from several combat missions and the only frustrate me it was an f eighty six pilot they were too fast to give graham close air support to the people on the ground so wouldn't you know when they won eighty seventh airborne was going to make a combat job doug said let me jump with about being a paratrooper world war two and i can be there for their controller get down on the ground was doing a great job as their border control or a unit have all lost all its officers and doug stanhope although ford and table and one for very heroically i think and then fourthly a mortar round came in abundance kilkenny last votes

to pass it and many others the duo come to stores it's only us in a moment but let me take you now with captain tom are you do a scene you tell in the book which must have been quite as losing for art and for you and for everyone who was along that day you you are you're moving toward whatever the front his post debate and you run into this officer i think you describe him as a as of this double cd fellow and you give us a q and a interview and when carter spokesman for for your group and this psy looking officer who's been on the ground and probably has some reason to be seated and porous against asked questions so to get a layer land and it's very disturbing is in

survey was to me as a second lieutenant expecting it coming out of west point out of servers cool for people give orders the five paragraph e order you know what how things are organized and suddenly town are set he's a japanese have this gap in the fall or the frontlines of the answers oh how foley's boss for don't have any front lines for it you know what's going on while you see there a word or to check in but we just hope they'll let us know before they bug out because we're right at the bug out to another one along those lines and i'm thinking they're my goodness what's whoa what why gotten into well i think that the stories those sorts of contacts were frequently coming back as the war on know it was a war in which the word or blunders and blunders that costs seventy cost people their lives yes whoa whoa it was a hollow army in japan at that time again we head instead of

three times an arrangement we had to spend that we didn't have the proper number of tanks and tank the tag brand and the tech giant i joined that that america act at seventeen to start over to start an ad last eleven tanks and one day a day job and by the time i got there which was only a month into the war there are bound to tax troubles seventy you lost your friends ottaway yes your good friend my best for him and found i was so delighted when i was when i lost my tanks in the end up as a rifleman and find a town far away of the first platoon and i had the but the next door to more than he'd been a good friend of west point he was a fine strapping man is first baseman ago that baseball team and so on and then we came under attack on morning was overtime sector and i heard the firing going on i was trying to find out what was happening two bullets came my direction both are no immediate danger

and then finally the fighting ended and i went over to the company commander and on the way to get over the company command post started conduct its own story but you're for and ten a part of it and i i would eat beans will lose that the two new data and it just seemed so unreal and i remember when i i sought out by him back at the west point rain off his hand on this road winery and put on my other hand a warrant for the rest of the war that or town for a little while and one b first sergeant came up to me like said the same thing he's one of the standoff through them are unknown and i broke down and i think that that i think i told one of the book the reader that's right it also starring kerri miller now another look labs and who was hit man of great courage and yes i am i

gonna die was a picture of our wounded still trying to give i think ordinance on the map as a guide as bess in the years after the war he helped run across anniversary of some sort of awful book and i thought my gosh we took my picture right now there was a sergeant named larry kaplow you tell how re cap with talk to others on the same augusta was retreating kaplan says nobody come down with that without carrying the wounded and picked up two of them to get any the all know are not there in fact i think their colorful language it was something all through the first saudi ago that one of these added item and so they and so they are and so they brought a note down and then he survived sam course sam was a remarkable story i think he lives in a very gentle

man he was a husky football player at business school in new jersey had been less prevalent than tap of a football team a thing or not a great academically but it very mild mannered gentle individual and in combat in the same way of the gospel and this episode came when he and two other quietly from the same company that made this attack and they got over the crest of the hill well also there was this activity off to the right hurt some heard a shot or one of his men are going to cave to our checking out it was empty and it turned out there was a car whole squad of north koreans on sam went to the band's how how to help a man band pearl the safety and salmon america and riflery quickly and eight this whole group came swarming out and he one day his rifles empty he picked up by the barrels for sweeney at what club and you can picture this huge man with these stronger

koreans and violated over parliament and they found his body the next the next morning when a father from seven bed and a mirror on them several of whom had their skulls crushed and you just heard a remarkable thing to think of that plus anyone in russia one of our i mean so many of your classmates and you were decorated veterans mean you yourself were purple heart among among other among other and it's the photographs in the book rene hope you come to grow it with the reality of war first all there are those graduation in a headshot so is the of these bright attractive young man and then there are scenes from the battlefield and scenes of some of them being a decorated and scenes of

some of the suffering as kenny from his wounds i would say that for me i hadn't read an awful lot of books about war ii and had a most recently read two on on normandy for those in this country who want to know about war and understanding human side of it this book strikes me as a classic and i know it must be a great joy to all of the moves of the families of that class to have you take on this as almost a historian a class of forty nine but i guess down that's been migrated through order some of the comments i've had not just the reviews in newspapers and book but the common for members of the class and family members had a young fellow just a couple weeks ago passing through nashville called me up and he said my mother was pregnant with me when my father left for korea and he was killed over there and as you remember in the philippines just a very

wonderful file one of three greatest value so this book in addition to the photographs is the appendix where three and six but but the one that lists every member of a class and designates what role that middle class play in the korean war for resources what a wonderful resource for all your classmates all their families and for those who are interested in researching other heroes the history that war would rather that idea well i laid out those at a class reunion when i had pretty well completed the manuscript and one my spelling and over there said oh harry how do you decide who's going to be included in your book and i thought oh my gosh you're

the first many many untold story there's no way i think i mentioned at least eight hundred people in the book but but they realize that to be many others leaped out right then so i follow up from all american event flies very effective i'm sure it makes him feel better but i'll tell you mean that makes me feel better about my country in old data point turned out this flood of love of soldiers and of such that the greatest thing that i got an area you fell on the milwaukee journal said the ending of james michener book the bridge is a cocoa or espn rolls peaking in all almost in august that word really gets such man yes and this reviewer ends up clearly we got some of them was why question organizers at ut recite that and the book and and i think that's exactly it that's exactly right now you on the start of her metzger a couple of other stories that we can be worth well a vet's care was asian let's get

a better was a a very able individual who was on our boys to take him to the airport to go to europe the impact of baggage is that said goodbye to his wife and everything they pull them off the bus said no you're going to korea anybody by tammy ended up in korea the year was a company commander ian was ready for an attack and i remember his time either that this was later the war when they rehearsed the attacks and the summary of bob dylan said oh captain arthur lieutenant what what do you need in the day thing and he was the colonel that in this because they knew it they were like agony lighter fluid from eyeliner and right before the attack he's in this transfer to drop off a berkeley missouri over the papers well enough of the part of the others to win iowa to tell the ceremonies mr vogel i

think that it demonstrates that the book is filled with with a great diverse stories including those of zombies you're a war in that in that in that in that in the midst of violence in the violent toward for a midst of a courage and an and wounding and then there was also a lighter alive and i tried to enter their main although the end of the bar car for example the story jerry powers the side they're building what the engineers call a flying ferry which was a raft attached to a cable you took it out and you have an outboard motor new go across the river this time this particular river about two hundred yards wide and was a tidal river and so he picked up his flying ferry and a tanker was ready to cross into and terri says no i think i better make a trial run with it because the current priest pretty stuff right now paper said no we can't afford to wait what saved them at drive a tank on board terry's

rap make it across the river but halfway cables awkward and it goes which cable can hold a snap so they're bolder and they go down the river and from the far surely get start getting shots fired in their direction and they get down the hallway down to the estuary and suddenly the tides coming back they come again that have again the same people to argue the uprights wiley they've managed to the beach something and it has left they build more liberal with a story set old eric i was see terry actors steamboat powers are you do a lot of collecting the time when they were in combat aside you got a new assignment yellow babe lecture brand black sheer bryan well a great name for the korean war ask amy is such as a yes vote choir choir and he was very a very fine man and a very good that may certainly am

ayatollah book this wonderful episode my purse politis one morning he said my were gonna go abroad as we did every morning and said must go twenty first after a two month and standing by siler old was colonel richard stevenson is one of my heroes who was the rhythm of my energy up in the jeep with me in the colonel steven said on a pie company and i've turned that scamp the ocean where we are very disinterested and i thought my gosh girl brian get circled the old girl religious order and lonely old and suddenly we hold on the us laymen there of my company they're all standing in their ranks and to writers get out there and when all things stayed for my benefits a very moving on and then they have the model on me for something that happened earlier well speaking of betting on levels of the store a new york times is a picture of you in a white jean it had a

baby daughter veronica two and half years old and a star in the times said that while another with an aunt or aka watch from omar bradley's me that's right and that actually yeah it truly happened to that said that if you have an unexpected number of reviewing what has a set i think that that that the stories tell me like a book they would relate the story of a forgotten war in ways that make an unforgettable for those who read this book i said that the photographs in the appendices any measurably to your ability to understand what what that war was about now this is your first book is what we talk about on this program is how writers write at your career in the military ended in the banking world why does it take on writing over as a third group was wondering and course

you use everything as an alibi not to write it for you as a writer i guess also orders wanna write their memoirs but i didn't realize should tell my own memoir don't think there was enough there for me i begin my story is a framework to tell the story of my class and i wanted them to be remembered well now at having done it once and having gone through the ordeal of finding a publisher which is not easy in an odd but i'm not surprised he found one it should be easy now to find a second publisher if you got a second started that was probably about that it did go more easily that it's contagious that i wrote the no publisher for a second book about the second book about it's about moral courage votes bought a series of episodes from american military history fifteen episodes going back to the american revolution all with desert storm in each case someone was faced with a hard decision and chose the harder right

decision brendan gleeson his audience on a military profile security very much thought that fact i thought of at one time as a possible titled military profiles in courage and hand you complete the mention of i've concluded as far as poetry can be brain sees a range of the male role here that's and that's a fine publishing house are saying now well when the book comes out will it back let me take you back to your own conclusion of the book the call a question about about war has been asked since the end of that war and perhaps was asked during the forum the question i guess the test after every wall was was worth i suppose she's really change the legionnaire tell the essence also includes our generation of progress and so i think it was worth the it was a

bold decision by harry truman to confront communist aggression sort of set the stage for the cold war how i think when i think of what north korea was like to date and power urged ugly dictatorship and contrast it with south korea where it did happen to go for a second tour of duty which is a thriving economic giant and i think they're alone they were worth the sacrifices but i think i think it was worth and of course there is another dimension to and that is the human dimension of what that warm and despite all the laws to the character of the country as it looks back on those days in which the united states took a stand because than costly stand but they it seemed to me that i'm in a class of forty nine and

you quote summon an undoable task look back on that look back on that war as a defining moment in your life i think that's true and someone one of the remarkable career not only starlet became general walter force an army who fought in korea some became company presents one man became secretary the army air and so but i think what we learned there about what we're capable of wasn't maybe a revelation but also a great education and maybe it helped to define west point in our mind more than the four years that the academy helped define it that make sense it makes sense today and having read the book and particularly make sense but also makes me and mild a point that i'm sure you do to i do and one of my signs of the alumni magazine what interview was

anybody who wants to understand west point for their children as they have of somebody wants to go there or who attended the academy now read this book because it does carry my neighbor forty nine billion dollars from the hudson valley alec has been our guest on a word on words your host has been john c compiler chairman of the freedom forum's first amendment center at vanderbilt university this program was produced in the studios of wbez and nashville