Louis B. Strickland

Louis B. Strickland: Korean War

Interviewed by Karen Goforth (student interview)

Interview Date: March 9, 2004

Q: Mr. Strickland, when and where were you born?

A: Well, I was born on June 8, 1932 at Holdenville, Oklahoma, in a little old farmhouse way out in the country.

Q: When did people first begin thinking that the US might get involved in Korea?

A: Well, I don’t have any idea, because I was a kid at the time. And, ah, I didn’t even know there was about to be a war until after the Oklahoma National Guard was called into service.

Q: Was the war expected, or did the war and US involvement come as a complete surprise?

A: It came as a complete surprise – to me.

Q: How old were you when the Korean War broke out?

A: I was 18 years old. I was just barely out of high school.

Q: Were you in the military at that time?

A: No. I was, ah, just got out of high school and was working at a little old job in Oklahoma City.

Q: Were you a World War II veteran? And if so, how did that impact your thoughts about the Korean War?

A: No, I was – I was not a World War II veteran, and therefore, it didn’t have any affect on my thoughts of the Korean War.

Q: If you were not already in the military, were you drafted or did you enlist?

A: Well, that’s kind of an interesting story. When the Oklahoma National Guard was called up, I had an older brother who was in the Oklahoma National Guard. And he called – they called him up and he was sent to Korea. He was an infantryman. And he would write to me and also to my twin brother, Luther Strickland, and he told us “This is hell over here. So, ah, if there’s anything you can do to avoid it, you should, because it’s cold . . . “ They were, ah, crawling around in the mud and the snow and fighting in Korea. So, my twin brother and I – Luther – we decided that we’d just join the navy and avoid the army draft. And, ah, about December of 1950, they started drafting 18-and-a-half-year-olds into the army. And Luther and I were 18-and-a-half years old. So we rushed down to the naval recruiting office and enlisted in the navy for four years to avoid being drafting into the army for two years.

Q: What were your personal feelings about going off to war and what were your feelings in regards to communism and anxieties and tensions it created in the United States?

A: Well, I didn’t really have any personal feelings about it one way or the other. I was too ignorant and young to realize – I didn’t know anything about world affairs or I didn’t know why we were fighting a war in Korea. I just knew what I heard over the radio that – and television – that, ah, the North Koreans had come down and attacked the South Koreans and we were going to help them out. And so, we – we were to do what we could to help the South Koreans.

Q: What were the feelings of your friends and acquaintances about the war?

A: I don’t know. I don’t really know.

Q: Did all of the people you knew want to join the military and serve?

A: Ah, no. I don’t know of anybody that wanted to join. They, ah, they were only joining because they – they had to.

Q: How did your family, wife, or girlfriend feel about your going off to war?

A: Well, they were unhappy about it. I had a girlfriend that, ah, didn’t like it at all. But she got used to the idea after I was gone. She found another boyfriend!

Q: Where did you undertake basic training?

A: Took basic training in the navy at, ah, naval recruiting depot at San Diego, California.

Q: Explain your experiences and impressions of basic training.

A: Well, basic training was, ah, to me was rather difficult. One of the worst things about basic training was that – was the being away from home for the first time in my life. And, ah, people – the people that were over us bossed us around, and, ah, for some unknown reason I was selected to be a “leader” in my boot camp company. And I got to give orders to the other men. But, ah, so we got through it alright. I guess it made men of us.

Q: Well, after basic training, where did the military send you?

A: Well, after the basic training we, ah, they sent me to a school – an electrical school – to become an electrical, ah, well to be like an electrician. That school was on the naval training center at San Diego also. That school was about, oh, I think it was about 6 months long, and when I graduated from that school, they shipped me out to a ship. They sent me to the USS Hector. It was a large repair ship that was stationed – well, it was home ported in San Diego, California. And just as I finished school, it came into port and I transferred to the ship.

Q: In what capacity did you serve during the Korean War? Your duty, rank, and the places you served.

A: Well, ah, I went aboard the USS Hector and was assigned to the repair department where we, ah, were repairing electric motors and generators and all types of electrical equipment. And, ah, of course, I worked hard during those periods of time and every time it was – I was, ah, had time in grade to get an advancement, I got promoted. And, ah, about a year or so before my four years was up, ah, I was promoted to an electrician’s mate first class. I was in charge of the electrical shop supervising 20 electricians who were rewinding electrical motors.

Q: In terms of your own experience in Korea, under what kind of conditions did you live and work? Please elaborate about the food, clothing, etc.

A: Well, living conditions about the USS Hector were real comfortable and we had a good place to sleep. Had plenty of water to drink and take showers and the food was better – it was better food than I’d ever had in my life!

Q: What kind of contact did you have with the people back home, and what kind of correspondence did the military permit?

A: Well, we had – the correspondence we had with back home was just regular letter writing, and, ah, that’s really about all. No restrictions on writing letters. And, of course. . .

Q: They didn’t edit your letters?

A: They didn’t edit our letters, no.

Q: If you feel comfortable talking about combat, please describe the combat experiences you had, if any.

A: Well, my ship and its crew spent a large part of their time in a harbor in Japan with the other navy ships alongside being repaired. However, every month the ship would leave port and sail off the coast of Korea and we would transfer people to other ships while we were there and also we could see the other ships firing the big guns into the coast lines – bombarding the coast. And we – we would also refuel other ships at sea. And so, it was an interesting experience. We went into port at one place in Japan and the president of South Korea – Syngman Rhee – and his wife came aboard our ship to visit the admiral. We had an admiral aboard our ship, and they came aboard the ship and had a big conference aboard our ship. And they stayed later in the evening and joined the crew to watch a movie that was being shown on the boat deck of the ship. And then after the movie, they got in their boat and went back ashore.

Q: What was your most memorable experience in Korea – combat or otherwise?

A: Well, ah, it’s difficult to, ah, think of which would be the most memorable. There were some times, ah, well, probably, the typhoons that we went through. During the course of the three years I was aboard that ship, the ship went through three typhoons. One typhoon especially, Typhoon Ruby, which came across Japan in 1953, ah, which washed ships clear up on the beach, and our ship was removed from the inner harbor and taken to way in the out part of Tokyo harbor and dropped anchor. And when the winds started blowing, they started turning the screws on the ship and as the winds picked up, they increased the speed of the screws, and, ah, they were pushing against the wind. And by the way, at the same time they had both anchor chains – both anchors were out – hanging in the bottom of the harbor, but yet the wind drug our ship a long – across the harbor. And we – even with our engines running full speed ahead. And that was a shocking experience because it was – we didn’t know for sure whether our ship would hold up or not. That was one of the occasions.

Another storm we went through was off the coast – off the Philippines – and we were in a storm of that type for four days. For four days the ship’s propellers, or screws, would come out of the water on every plunge of the bow. It would shake and vibrate the ship immensely. And that was exciting. Men were sick – seasick – all over the place, and luckily I didn’t get sick. I never did get sick while I was in the navy.

Q: How has that particular experience impacted your life?

A: Well, it, ah, that’s kind of a difficult question. I think the military experience as a whole caused me to grow up and become an adult. I, ah, I – it seemed that I was always put into a position of leadership, and, ah, I – a lot of them looked up to me. And, ah, I – I probably would have stayed in the service and made it career, but I hadn’t been to college yet. So I – when my four years were up, I got discharged mainly because I wanted to go to school and get a – further my education.

Q: How long did you serve in Korea?

A: Well, I was in the navy for four years – three years aboard the ship, and, ah, probably two and a half years of that was in the Korean area – in that South Sea area.

Q: After serving in Korea, where did the military send you or were you immediately discharged?

A: Well, I was immediately discharged when my enlistment ran out and I was discharged in San Diego, California.

Q: What kind of reception did you receive when you got back in the United States?

A: Well, when I got back in the United States, ah, I, ah, immediately came back to Oklahoma and looked for a job. And I couldn’t find a job in Oklahoma. This was in 1955. I couldn’t find a job in Oklahoma, so I got in my old car and went back to California and there I went to work in an aircraft plant as a – as a draftsman – electrical draftsman trainee.

Q: In terms of your war experiences, how did those experiences affect, if at all, your relations and interactions with your family, friends, spouse, and/or girlfriend?

A: Well, ah, the experience of being in the service, ah, made me more able to relate to other people, and so, I guess, in that sense, it helped me relate to family, ah, future acquaintances and even girlfriends.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with some of the people you served with?

A: No, I don’t have contact with any of the people that I served with in the navy.

Q: What kinds of general observations and conclusions do you have about the Korean War and your Korean War experience?

A: Well, ah, it was a war that was never really settled – completely settled. It was a war that was not – that was never really won. And, ah, so, the conclusions you have to take for it is – you have to really take – make the conclusions as personal conclusions. If you got through it OK, and became a better person as a result of it, that’s the main thing as far as I am concerned personally.

Q: Anything you’d like to add before we complete the interview?

A: Well, I think that every young man should have an opportunity to serve in the military. They learn discipline, and ah, purpose for their life. And I would think it would be a good idea that they had universal military training.