Henry T. Alex

Bio

Henry T. Alex was born in Yorktown, Texas on November 9, 1927. He grew up on a farm and completed the eleventh grade. He received his draft notice on his birthday in 1950 and soon after, he was headed to Korea to take part in the Korean War, landing there in July of 1951. He was assigned as a truck driver and was often on guard duty with most of his time being spent in the Punchbowl region. He described knowing what to do and how to do it but often found himself feeling sick with fear that accompanied combat. His interactions with Korean civilians were limited, though he felt sorry for the hardships they were having to endure. Having little prior knowledge of Korea, he was glad to have helped the nation he came to learn so much about.

Video Clips

Chop Chop

Henry T. Alex recalls feelings of grief when seeing children suffering from the pangs of war. He describes children begging them for food and how it would make him cry knowing there was so little they could do to help. He shares how it is still upsetting to this day to think back on those moments.

Tags: Civilians,Food,Front lines

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Laundry Service

Henry T. Alex describes the process of laundering clothes when serving on the front lines. He explains how the tents were set up for showering and that the Korean men would take the dirty clothes and the Korean women would have freshly laundered clothes for you to exchange. He recalls the importance of having to know your size because you did not get your clothes back but simply exchanged dirty laundry for clean laundry.

Tags: Civilians,Front lines,Living conditions,Women

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Building Bridges

Henry T. Alex describes the protocol for building bridges in the midst of war. He remembers the feeling of fear and how it would make him sick to go out on the front lines despite knowing what to do and how to do it. He recalls always having enough material due to the importance of being able to move the infantry along.