War or College

A couple of weeks into the quarter a memo came, naming students that needed to get their physicals taken for the draft, by reporting to the center in Spokane.  I now realized there were other circumstances that could interrupt all of my plans.  The other guys were apprehensive too, and questioned why we were fighting a war on the other side of the world.  I had heard about the Korean War but not enough to answer that question or many I had.  I decided to go to the library and research the topic.

The Korean War was a military conflict between the republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, supported by the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union.  In a sense, it was the United Nations vs. the communists.  The war began in the spring of 1950 with disputes about the political division of Korea.  During World War II, Japan had ruled the Korean peninsula and when the war ended it was divided by American administrators along the 38^th parallel, with U.S. troops occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern part.

There were reunification negotiations attempted but the cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38^th parallel continued.  There was open warfare when the North Korean forces invaded South Korea in June, 1950.  The United Nations, particularly the United States, came to the aid of the South Koreans and repelled the invasion.  The Peoples Republic of China and the Soviet Union came to the aid of the North Korean Communists.  We had a dangerous situation involving the super powers.  It didn’t help me or others I shared this information with, to feel any better about our getting involved in this war.

The day for our physicals came and we all trooped into the Spokane center where numerous young men were coming and going.  It obviously was a big push on recruitment.   We lined up, stripped down to our shorts and moved through the process.  There were many questions. 

We split up, going to the various screening stations as a vacancy occurred.  They were checking eyes, getting our weight, measuring height, taking blood samples and many other detailed exams.  Then something strange happened.  I stepped up to get measured for height and the technician conferred with a supervisor for a moment.  He directed me to put my cloths on and indicated I could go.  He said I was too tall and was classified 4F for that reason.  I was stunned but didn’t argue with him for one second. 

When we got back to the campus I had a lot of explaining to do. Several of the basketball players were over 6 feet tall but evidently below the cut off height.  I wasn’t sure I believed it until I got my draft card in the mail with the 4F stamped on it.  I let go with a sigh of relief and wasn’t long in letting my family know what had happened.  I let Red know too, as it might affect the team he was planning on. We learned later that an armistice was signed in July of 1953 that restored the border between the Koreas at the 38^th parallel and created the Korean (DMZ) Demilitarized Zone, a 2.5-mile wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. Some Eastern college guys enlisted anyway, as American troops were being deployed along the DMZ to enforce the armistice.  By enlisting in the service of choice before being called for the draft, service in the army was avoided.

I did lose a roommate to military action.  Les Greear left school winter quarter and entered the service.  He returned several years later and finished the degree, so he could teach.  I taught at the same school with him later in my career.  Tom and I had two new room mates to replace George Kelb and Les Geear.  Jerry Hamilton joined us and became a good friend.  Another fellow from down the hall, Duane Vahsholtz, became a life long friend due to his involvement in Industrial Arts.  These fellows have each been my friends over the many years following college.  Here are the three buddies, from left to right, Duane Vahsholtz, Jerry Hamilton, and Tom Plant. 

Later on Jerry dropped out of school to work and eventually joined the service.  Tom went into the service also in February1954 after he graduated, at the end of fall quarter.  I roomed with Duane (Dewy) in 1955 in a two-man room with a shared study room across the hall.

*Taken from "Which Road Should I Follow?, Volume 1, Growing up in the country", an autobiography by Edwin K. Hill.