Korean War Legacy Project

Donald Clark

Bio

Donald Clark served in the Army for 23 years, eventually retiring as a Major. When he first joined the military, he went to Basic Training in Hawaii with false expectations. He discusses his experiences as a member of the Radio Operation team and the unique experiences that they had during the Korean War. He describes the Cold Winters during the war and how being on duty as a Radio Operator was actually a benefit. He is very proud of his service and how much Korea has modernized since his time there.

Video Clips

Basic Training in Hawaii

Donald Clark describes his naive expectations of basic training in Hawaii. He and two other young men that he had just met had thought that the colorful posters on the wall in the recruiting office were signs of what to expect. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving at basic training, he realized he was in "fourteen weeks of hell." He quickly learned that he would be going to Korea.

Tags: Basic training,Civilians,Fear

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Life as a Radio Operator During the War

Donald Clark describes what it was like to serve as a Radio Operator during the war. He explains what members were on the team and what it was like in the radio truck. He mentions the only moments of combat they experienced while they were set up next to a river and the bridge was bombed- they quickly moved to a new location!

Tags: Fear,Living conditions,Physical destruction

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Cold Winters as a Radio Operator

Donald Clark describes the cold winters in Korea. He explains that the men would fight over who would get to serve the midnight shift because the radio truck was much warmer than their tent thanks to the BC10 transmitter and other equipment. He recalls a time in Seoul when they had to cut cardboard boxes to cover the holes in the tent and block the cold winds.

Tags: Seoul,Cold winters,Fear,Living conditions

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