Alfred Curtis

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I’m Alfred Eugene Curtis 83 years old

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US Marines where you at you where you were for training and

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before war what happened the reason

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I was dyslexic all my life

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it and they didn’t know much about it

and they didn’t know much about it

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words I couldn’t like even spell the day but when my brother came home from

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From Marine corps and bootcamp was tell me what was happening at that time

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president truman’s fixin to do away with Marine Corps people realize that was

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Graduating 1-2/week

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Out of MCRD already but we told me what they did

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I mean they’d knock you around and do anything they pleas

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I had to see that so that’s when I joined

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And went San Diego year to boot camp then

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when did when did you find out that you’ll be going to Korea for the Korean

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War

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I got into bootcamp in ‘49

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going to boot camp

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I wanna go to sea school which is you know

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thatI was only recommended for

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but they decide to put me in a different category

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so I went to a different specialization

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communications a lot of different specializations

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When the Korean war broke out obviously I was

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I was right here in San Diego in that

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well

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my brother’s here too well i i didn’t

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ever meet him there him the immediate seen him to Korea which the

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first Marines over there

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in do you interview with Ruben I think the many

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times with how World War two

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NCO’s and officers it’s a good chance

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will have been defeated immediately that was very important

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WWII hadn’t been that long

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NCO’s were WWII veteran

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combat veterans World War two made a big difference

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when you’re eighteen 18 years old you have no idea what’s really going on

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when you first heard that you’ll be going to Korea

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how do you feel did you have like an idea what it would be like

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Well first off don’t think hardly anybody knew anything about Korea

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obviously

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World War I was growing up during that time you only heard about the Japanese and also

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the germans the last two years world war two hours in Oak Ridge Tennessee

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atom bomb

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have a badge on to

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it was calls top secret that time so we came out to california

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like right between the germans in japan surrendered

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thousand people

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And so

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The Marine Corps with

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I had no idea never heard of Korea before

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with you you know source something different

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in obviously been young

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in being a young Marine you or make you think well we’ll get over there and

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we’ll take your everything

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couple months and be back home you know obsessed with both

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think we did so uh

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when I went to Korea a the to be up to san francisco put me on

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I don’t remember the name exactly

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Dyslexic you remembered America advanced very good

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but I can’t remember dates and places so

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I know that

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went to yokohama from there went to

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at the Tokyo to train Sassabo?

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like a lot of people the bridge on a long ferry

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take to Pusan signs but the old place

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open that within controlled by the north koreans that time

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it was my first experience being over there

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ya then when you first got there what was your impression

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my first impression I’ll never forget it

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was a little boy

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I understand a lot more

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Civilians and kids who suffered

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I adapt to stuff very quickly I accept stuff

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nothing bothers me but the

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the people in South Korea they suffered

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what was your living conditions like is

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I was specially training

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Couldn’t spell HS dropout immediately

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put me to a lotta training

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undercover sting I was teaching class

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by two hundred people from high school dropouts college

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graduates but don’t forget

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when it started they decide to send me to Korea

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so in Korea during the combat period I did three different things

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El Dorado which is the flagship in korea

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his 18-year-old maybe big turn just 19

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Working for 3 star admiral top level of Korea

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with a small breed attachment all

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moves all officers master sergeant they was working with the admiral

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The marines here in Korea although out the youngest guy

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their I end up typing up coded message for the admiral stuff like that

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plus leader on I was in labor gunfire in close air support

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Naval gunfire

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either

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talking ships to bring in back that time

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Missouri there at the New Jersey different ones to where the target was

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sometimes I’ll be on the ship talk with people on land

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but I did mostly it was close air support naval gunfire

 

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I’m close air support we’ll be talking to planes to bring them

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on targets the very first jet thank talk to most time at that time it was

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?

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The first jet I talked to first gen

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talk to he didn’t you

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flamed out just let everything go any and he crashed

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now I don’t know exact words that was on the west side

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up Korea in the mud flats called up Val on

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100’s of yards can’t see the ocean

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so I was involved in lots of things

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different things you know was with special attachments and so I never knew

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where I was there where was going you know

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remember the name to cities I do member

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Pusan and Seoul on but all the other little and Incheon

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towns and villages was not in there at that time

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nothin you know that seemed like every time with you

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you move back and forth the civilians had to

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go back and forth to you been so you can imagine what they went through

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so did you have some interaction that the Koreans there

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yes we worked with the

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Korean Marines at times

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we worked with the the British, the New Zealanders

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the turks there are the meanest sons of guns because

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they been

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fighting among themselves for centuries World War two is all real fighters

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they was me you did so

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we work the ROK which is a the Korean army too

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but when you’re very young you just do what you’re told

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you know where we go and where we went

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I have no idea just like or do I think did you

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did you have any I’m Korean civilians

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that you took in to help them or certain people

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every now and then that was see that a lot of people would help

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you you are young or so

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I get there that way do stuff

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what I was amazed house they picked up

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English in no time they could speak better than I could

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I could on me

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What Korea has done since the Korean War is

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unbelievable their world power

 

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Is a lot to be proud of

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what they’ve been through forget

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was occupied prior to that by the Japanese

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it goes back in history so career was dominated by other countries

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to countries for a long long time

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and so there was nothing in there at the time when we was over there

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you I mean nothing remember one paved road

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what anything is your

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both maybe rewarding your most memorable

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and a favorite memory from the war if you have

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up always been without realizing it my whole life

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interesting in how things history do to me this is like the history class

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have always been able to accept things the way they are

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and a lot people can’t do that you know

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how was it things are bad but you’ve got to accept

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get along with that you know

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I can remember that seem to me that the weather over there

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was either the rainiest or the muddiest so damn cold it’s unbelievable

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are so not you know I know there are some good days

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see my it if you’ve been there you know it the season’s

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when it’s cold it’s cool it’s hot it’s hot when it’s dusty it’s dusty when its

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Muddy it’s muddy so it

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Without roads imagine get back and forth get around

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not that easy

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maybe then your hardest time something make the most difficult thing that you

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did there

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I will see the hardness was the cold

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we was very lucky

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based on the 1st Marines there we just out of WWII

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so everything we had was for jungle fighting

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What saved

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Turn down the rubber insulated boots

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it so by their I’m pretty sure that save me for getting frostbite

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in also they have come out partners I couldn’t believe us like who was the

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world

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warm so the cold was really really bad

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you know but you have no choice

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that’s why I think wars fought by young people

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you get through stuff like it a lot easier

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did other people get frostbite send

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they have to me was go back home any other

 

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Any other battle stories or stories during the war that you wanna share

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like this says I don’t remember

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The different towns out the stuff like that I still

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I don’t know

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to four weeks ago when they came here in

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recognize all the combat veterans are in Korea

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A flag in korea

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I haven’t seen over 60 years it was wadded up

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I have it sealed lay seal and I got a pressed

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likened a group self gonna have another big flag

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that was all the UN think about twenty-some old

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countries in so I brought this up

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And showed the person in charge of this he had to

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Took several pictures together to does will be there was seen it

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showed all the country’s flags of each countries over there

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yet to participate

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UN stuff

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I do know at times the Australians and the English

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fought all the time

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you don’t get around

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The one thing I missed more than anything else was milk

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close to a Australian outfit and we crated them

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Caulfield them for for some boaters don’t like that they have flown in

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rerun so with these things you don’t you don’t happen you

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by not smoking have never smoked so I was able to crawl

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your affect the rest you get buy cigarettes

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Every pack of sea rations you get five cigarettes

 

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for different things so that that helped to

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so I headed towards the sea rations where if you’re a smoker people do anything to

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get smoke

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then when did you return home

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I came back

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my ship we came to San Diego

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I was out for two years I’m by two months

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in other words the california forestry up there you know ago

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Kept asking

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I guess I’m and old man

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I spent three years

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in my time was up when I was in korea so they

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extended for six months in time I didn’t know it but by

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extend six months you didn’t have to join reserves when you got out

 

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but after being out 2 monts started asking me questions

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stuff and so I went back in for two years

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in doing that two years I was or going overseas

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was I’m I’m very good gambler

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I’m a good gambler is gonna know the odds

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I was going because wanna make sure I could where I could be good

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lives in Hawaii instead with them in very many other

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you going on

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past like that but unit two years

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then I was flown back and forth every three months

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when three months in Korea two months or Japan

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and then back to why for three months back to Korea Seoul with good stuff

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of an three years Korean conflict

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beginning to the end do you think about the Korean War often

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know when I get out after a while

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I start a business

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And I ended up owning the largest

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largest ambulance service in the county with many many meds stores and businesses

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And can’t spell

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but had good exec secretary

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do in that time was the Vietnam War

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and I did not know that a lot of people work for me was

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in the Vietnam War I never thought about it but since I’ve been a veteran

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this

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for fourteen years first then we’ll hear stuff is

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one like this all the time this is the first interview on

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on because Doris asked me

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Probably 2-3 dozen times

 

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its it’s a it’s just part my life

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you know

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it’s a it’s a great way for person coming out of high school doesn’t know what he wants to do

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do I think

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Be in the service there was going to be a war

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Short time after you but my

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my brother was over there and he was involved

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very first marine landed over there

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From here called the brigade

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they took off from was the north koreans back

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and he was in Incheon and Chosin Resovoir

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only from but he came back to the states

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But he ended up dying from his wounds

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He was wounded there last time so badly and had to stay in Japan

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Brought him back to the states

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To a hospital

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That then he died from his wounds

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what’s his name his name was John Curtis

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Was only 13 mos in

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all these men who fought in who served in the war

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its just incredible in your own words

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if you can just describe it in just a few words this

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this legacy that guys it have made and created

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how how can you describe it what is it to you what does this mean to you

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well since I’ve been here billion Bob is a different thing the south koreans done

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this honored us you know I’m the military

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Ship

 

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all the Korean veterans down to the convention center in

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A lot of things for us the civilians have done a lot of the same

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we just got through with another thing in other words

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there so grateful a lot of people improve in Korea

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look every buy living over there right now they don’t remember the war

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we maybe they do if they’ve seen pictures and stuff

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no was our country has done such a short period of time

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unbelievable but other countries has not done that

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South Koreans are very smart people

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the Japanese same we’ve been you know Japan there

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When I took the train

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To tet a ferry to Pusan and Sasaboo

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I go through

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I remember on train I looked up

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everything was destroyed

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he was here in as it is impossible I was rope bridge Hiroshima

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when they dropped it first atom bombs were made a lot of tests

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in the said no one people live in this town

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for 100 years answer why we driving through a

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Right in the middle of it in a short period of time

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In WWII because the Korean conflicts

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they must work a lot about that so

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I remember sometimes I had opportunity

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to be in places were

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some Korean army generals on making up with more money is important to Sergeants and Corporals in battles in

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in the Marine Corps is certain battles

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they want to use the atom bomb you know obviously

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resolves with people

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in there were no obviously could really so that was interested

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the interaction I had with different outfits and different people

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yours time you for education

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this is history and go to bed where on

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you still history you any other message that you wanna

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share with people they’ll be watching this later on a

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well

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have told you like think movement in

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any other veterans that helped us out

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World War two without their support at that time

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I have no idea what we have were happened made a big difference

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nothing like experience when you’re eighteen 18 years old

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in don’t forget this happened so fast a lot

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live a normal life in some town months later

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there right middle of conflict and stuff

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And seeing things that they never dreamed and

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but I’ve always been able to adapt to a situation immediately 21:07

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helped me throughout my professional career to know

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Korean people have been very grateful what we did

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times going will be nobody there members that

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go pictures something like that and I think minutes lastly we hear

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the honors for your want to know lucky young people

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obviously I think in Seoul and Incheon

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doesn’t rely background history what we done to that country

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it was well this guy just came forward

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he recognizes all the people in combat

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in every country you I think it’s great

 

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can you explain what the well every year

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Veterans Affairs and everyone’s had golden age game

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veteran

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the senior from home United States and Hawaii and Alaska

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Ask me and over 600 people go every year

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throughout United States to

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Bring a picture what we looked like

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In the service a current picture

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been name similar face expression to

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good

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I didn’t realize how thin I was

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handsome young man in here’s a another picture

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A different picture in Korea not exactly sure when

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I’m a buck sergeant a lot of people didn’t have buck 45’s

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I was not a typical marine officer

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But a marine officer is totally different than what’s on the ground

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one was injured

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And so to hear

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went very well back be on the lines

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In the army it to take a shower that was unbelievable

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when you’re out there cold water and dirt don’t like that was great

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so it we would

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interesting time but it wasn’t all fun

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it’s a think likely adapt

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me too

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project