I arrived in Korea on January 11, 1954. I had left Seattle on the USS Bruckner with 5000 other lost souls. It took us about 10 days to reach Yokohama. I had a 24 hour pass there. We transferred to the USS Collins and went around the southwest end of Japan to Sasebo. We spent all night processing and got back on the Collins with winter uniforms and some additional shots. Two days later, early in the morning we dropped anchor off Inchon. There were no docks so we came in on a landing craft. They took us by truck to a replacement camp. I had frost bitten feet when I got off the truck. My feet thawed by lunch time. Another truck ride took us to a train station that evening. We spent that night and most of the next day on the train.

The train was a 1900 vintage. The seats were similar to wooden park benches. They were not long enough to lay down on and the aisle was too wide to span with your legs. At the ends of each car were very deep shelves for luggage. Each shelf was occupied by three soldiers with just their heads showing. The train was blacked out and we stopped more often than not. I of course was picked out as a guard. Each time the train stopped I would have to step down and make sure no one got on. Once when when the train stopped I was about to jump down but I had a feeling something was wrong. In Korea, at night, with no moon, it is black. Absolutely black. Well, I put my foot down slowly and could not touch the ground. We had stopped on a trestle. After that I didn't get down when we stopped.

After a day and a half on the train we stopped at another replacement camp. I slept there that night in a tent. The next morning there was a roll call and by noon 10 of us were put on a truck that was sent out from our battalion. After another 4 hour truck ride we arrived at battalion HQ in time for a late supper. That night I was a guest of one of the gun sections of Charley battery. It was too late that evening to find where I belonged. I slept in a bunker. It was the first time in about a week that I was warm and comfortable. The bunker was like a log cabin underground. I slept in a top bunk near an escape tunnel. The bunker was almost too warm, even though it was below zero outside. The next morning after breakfast, someone took me up to Able battery where I became a member of the FDC section.

John Sexton