Jerome Jerry Clement Olinger
Bio
Jerome “Jerry” Clement Olinger was an NCO in charge of operating anti-aircraft battery during his time in Korea. His experience doesn’t reflect a traditional soldier’s perspective during the war – his time was served as a commanding officer off the front-lines. He explains that his war experience was peculiar right from basic training in Alabama where he witnessed a live performance by Spike Jones and went skeet shooting with his comrades. He also describes times that they would go to the movies or church in town, even though the buildings had been damaged by the war. Jerome Olinger also describes the ride over on the ship, including both the good times and bad. He believes that he learned a lot from the war, including mechanics which helped him with his career.
Video Clips
Shooting Guns and Having fun
Jerome Olinger recounts some of his fun experiences during officer training in Alabama before the war. During the day, he remembers being able to shoot skeet (I.e. target shoot) until you ran out of shells for 25 cents. Once the day was over. the base also had entertainment to offer at night - Famous musicians (like Spike Jones) put on shows for troops in training and Jerome Olinger recalls all these day and night adventures with a smile.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7eg3d_gmE8&start=371&end=477
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/jerome-jerry-clement-olinger#clip-1
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Things to Do in Korea
Jerome Olinger recalls some of the recreational activities they got to do in Korea. He describes going to the movies in a theater with a roof that had been destroyed. He also went to church in a beautiful cathedral that had been hit with bullets.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7eg3d_gmE8&start=1095&end=1160
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/jerome-jerry-clement-olinger#clip-2
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The Good and Bad of the Ship
Jerome Olinger describes his nineteen days on the ship over to Japan. He remembers the ship hitting a storm, resulting in a large dent. Despite this scary event, there were good times too including showing movies on the projector.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7eg3d_gmE8&start=1789&end=1844
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https://koreanwarlegacy.org/interviews/jerome-jerry-clement-olinger#clip-3
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