Lawrence A. Bacon
Bio
Lawrence Bacon was born in 1930 in Idaho. His family moved to Washington State when he was 14 and he graduated from Pullman High School in Pullman, Washington. To avoid being drafted into the army, Lawrence Bacon enlisted in the Air Force in 1950. His MOS was supply technician, and part of his responsibility was to go to other bases to trade brake fluid for other parts. The war was difficult for him because he saw people lose their homes and livelihoods. After his discharge, he had several different careers on the West Coast, including working as a parts salesman for Piper Aircraft.
Video Clips
Barter System
Lawrence Bacon describes his work as a "scrounge" for the Air Force. During the war, brake fluid was in short supply for the Army and Marines, but the Air Force had plenty of it. Lawrence Bacon describes how he would scrounge around to other bases looking for parts his air group needed and bartering for them with extra parts and battery fluid.
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Trying to avoid going to Korea
Lawrence Bacon explains that he joined the Air Force in 1950 in order to avoid the draft. He explains that he was first sent to Texas for training and then to Alabama. In June 1951, he was sent to Japan in preparation of then going to Daegu to fight in the Korean War.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdrhMDyOqeM&start=170&end=295
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/lawrence-a-bacon#clip-2
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"I'm a People Person"
When asked about the hardest thing about being in Korea, Lawrence Bacon says that it was difficult to see people's homes and livelihoods destroyed. He says that he is a "people person" so this was especially hard. He says that he was there because he didn't have a choice.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdrhMDyOqeM&start=1096&end=1148
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/lawrence-a-bacon#clip-3
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