Soldier discovers little public interest in ‘police action' in Korea

 

My name is Lyman E. “Ed” Squires. I am now 77 years old. Nearly 60 years ago, I joined the California National Guard during my senior year in high school, in San Bernardino, Calif.

 

 On Jan. 25, 1952, we left Yokohama for Korea, landing several days later at Inchon, Korea. We then went by train to Chunchon, and then by truck approximately 40 miles north to relieve the 5th RCT (attached to the 24th Infantry Division).

 

 After a little over a month on the front lines, I was transferred to regimental headquarters company, security platoon, where I remained until I was released from active duty June 17, 1952. I found when I got home there was little public interest in the “police action” in far-off Korea.

 

U.S. Army Killed in action: 22,005 Missing in action: 77,422 Total including missing and departed 109,635

 

Marine Corps total fatalities 4,610 Navy total 466 Air Force 1,200

 My intent was to earn a little money from the weekly meetings and two weeks of summer training. I wanted to go to college after I graduated in June 1952.  However, the Korean War started two weeks after graduation, and California’s 40th Division National Guard and Oklahoma’s 45th Division were activated for the war. We went to Camp Cook (now Vandenburg Air Force Base) for our training, beginning Sept. 1, 1950.  March 1951 we shipped out to Japan. Went to Camp Zania West of Yokohama for a month and then to Camp McNair at the foot of Mount Fuji, for advanced combat training as a regimental combat team.  At the end of our training, we went to a camp in Northern Honshu, for amphibious training and airborne familiarization.