welcome home...

 welcome home...

                 

                                                           

  Most American, Korean War veterans, returned to their homeland and went back to work or school without any kind of welcome or celebration.  It was not the same as previous wars.  

  HUH?  What's up with that?   

  Unlike WWII when almost all Americans were working toward a unified goal, there was only a small portion of the country invested in the Korean War.  People had a different mindset because they had other things going on in their lives.  

  According to Historychannel.com, Korean War soldiers returned home to a population that was largely disinterested in the war effort.

  When I came back from Korea, there wasn't much of a reception, Jack Mullane, 92, recalled. After World War II, there were big parades and so forth. but, the Korean War wasn't really over.

  Where were you in life when you went into the service?  What were you doing?

  I was in my third year of college when I volunteered to go into the Air Force in 1951, he said.  After basic training, I was sent to Korea for a year.  

  The Air Force you joined was vastly different from today's Air Force.  

  Oh, my, yes, Jack agreed.  When I enlisted they didn't even have an Air Force uniform for me.  I wore an Army uniform. When I went to Korea, we had all World War II equipment, radar, jeeps, trucks, everything was surplus from that war. 

  The Air Force didn't come about until after World War II, correct? 

  That's right, he verified.  It was a couple years after the war ended.  Before it was called the United States Air Force, it was called the Army Air Corps. 

  When you enlisted, where did you go and what did you do?

  They sent me to Illinois to Scott Air Force Base to a school for radar and radar maintenance, he told me. I learned how to repair radios and radar equipment.  

  What was your job in Korea?

  I was sent to a radar station high on a hill outside Kimpo Air Force Base near Seoul in South Korea, he stated.  Radar allowed us to see any time North Korea flew a plane.  We'd notify the Air Base and they would send fighters up.  Our job was called, ACW, Air Control and Warning. 

  How long were you in Korea? 

  I spent a year there in a 10 man tent, he smiled.  I was rotated nights and days. 

  And all that time overseas, you never had the proper uniform.

  When I came home, they gave me an Air Force uniform, he replied.

  Did anything happen that was memorable when you came back from Korea?

  I remember when I returned, I was sent to Louisiana, he recollected.  My buddy and I wound up in a bar.  We were sitting on stools at the bar when a guy sitting a couple stools down from us asked us if we had been to Korea.  We said, yes, we just got back. He said, Well, I just want to thank you.  That was the only time I received any thanks. 

   A few months before your discharge, you set a new course for yourself. 

  I did, he smiled.  I got married in June of 1954 and I left the Air Force on February 1, 1955. 

  You are now out of the military a recently married man.  How did you make a living?

  I went to work for my father-in-law who owned a Ford dealership here in Louisville, Byerly Ford, he offered. The man who became my brother-in-law married the second daughter.  The two daughters inherited the business when their father passed. He and I ran the business.  I retired in 1990 and sold my half to my brother-in-law. 

  Did you start out in the business selling cars or were you in some other position with the company?

  I started in finance and stayed there the whole time, he volunteered.  My partner took care of the marketing side. 

  You also found time to raise a family.

  Yes, I did, Jack said happily.  My wife and I had four daughters and I live with one of them now.  I also went back to U of L and finished my degree, somewhere around 1958.  

  You mentioned how Korean War Veterans were not honored or given a grand welcome when they came home.  But, that omission was recently corrected. 

  About a month ago, I went to Washington for a day with about a hundred other veterans, he said.  There were five World War II Vets, 18 Korean War Veterans, and the rest were from the Vietnam War. They provided 100 people to guide us and help us get around.  It’s called, Honor Flight. 

  Did you get to see all the monuments and memorials?

  We did, he solemnly responded.  One of the biggest events was they took us to the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington.  That was quite an experience.  The whole time during the  changing of the guard, you could hear a pin drop.  It's a very reverent place. 

  You left Louisville early in the morning, flew to D.C. and you were home by 10:30 that night.  Pretty cool day for you.

   The biggest surprise was when we got back to Louisville, Jack confided. We got off the plane and we were just sitting there.  I asked my helper what we were waiting for and he said we were waiting for everyone to get off the plane.  When they did, we started to go around a partition that divided the walkway and there were two or three hundred people waiting to welcome us home! They clapped for us and cheered!

  WoW!  You finally got a welcome home.

  I really did, he said.  There were grade school kids, older people, parents, and they were all there to greet us from this trip.  That was the biggest welcome I ever had and they all wanted to shake my hand and thank me for my service. 

  Jack, if I didn't say it in our time together, thank you for your service to America. 

  Coming up: another oddities, observations, & ?'s; a POS segment; another job$ somebody's gotta do, and: a man and his wife who own not one, but, two vintage Shelby's!

  And, finally.  According to honorflight.org:  

   Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit organization comprised of independent hubs working together to achieve the Honor Flight mission. In furtherance of this common goal, we have the enormous privilege of showing our nation’s veterans the appreciation and honor they deserve. Honored veterans always travel free of charge, thanks to generous donations to our organization.

  Honor Flight Network currently honors those who served during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and veterans of any service era who are critically ill.

  HUH?  What's up with that?