Of
course we did night raids, worked with British Commandos, and did daytime
recons of supposedly fire-safe areas of Korea. It was during one fire-safe
recon that the Bad Guys attacked us causing two team members to be KIA and
several purple hearts were awarded. But we got back at them in spades with
future encampment raids.
I did three tours while with UDT-1 in Korea, with
the latter tour being less hostile that the previous two tours. Near the end
of the Korean War, while in Japan, I received transfer orders to a Repair
Tender in Yokosuka. This was a surprise to me, but in those days there
was no "freeze" on UDT personnel. My exec, LT. Joe Barker, got
that assignment squashed. However, I felt that in a matter of time any
and all of us might get orders to go somewhere not of our choice, so I put in
for shore duty. I was lucky, being assigned to a pet assignment at NAF
Monterey, CA.
After
3½ years I did some service “boondocking” and thereafter was
assigned to Special Assignments in Ankara, Turkey; followed by a couple of
years in Colorado. At this point the CIA drafted me and I spent the remaining
years of my "20" with the CIA. Upon retiring from the service I was
given a civilian position within the CIA doing 2 years in the
Field, 7 years in HQ. CIA, Washington, DC, and 9 years at a now closed CIA
Station in Southern California as the Senior CIA Station Rep. In 1978 I
had to retire from the CIA as my heart just gave out.
My wife Jane and I returned to our hometown of
Visalia, CA. to wait out my expected passing. But I rescheduled my lifestyle,
and obviously, this is really me writing this bio. I took up soft employment
several times to fill my day, but ultimately my heart crept up on me and I
totally retired in 1998. In the pre-retirement years after we returned
to our hometown, I raised show flowers, became a professional photographer
and did some work as a private investigator.
