Goodby Korea. . .
This photo was taken from the back of a truck, going over the Kansas Pass. We are leaving the valley for the last time. This pass is the only southern exit from the valley. It's the middle of November, 1954 and we are going to Japan! I had arrived in the valley January 11, ten months ago. My tour of duty for Korea was supposed to be 16 months. When I arrived the snow was deep and it was very cold. I started counting days. Each day seemed to last forever.
To keep my sanity I decided to look forward to no more than one day at a time and become more interested in my surroundings. Soon it was spring. The snow was melting. By May we began to swim in the river, or at least splash in it. It was too cold to dive under. I spent a lot time in that river during the summer.
By August, after my R&R in Japan we received the news we would be going to Japan in fall. Our battalion will turn our guns over to the South Koreans and move to Camp Drake, Tokyo. And now at last, we are leaving the valley. I have good memories of the time spent here. Of course, at the time I didn't realize they were 'good' memories.
We are taking all our vehicles with us. We have turned over our artillery and all other weapons to the Korean battalion which replaces us. The first leg of our journey is to convoy down to Chunchon. We will stay at the 24th division replacement center over night then continue down to Seoul and Inchon. I am riding in the back of a truck. I have done this so many times that I'm very comfortable and will probably sleep most of the way. (continued)